Monday, May 17: Kiwanis Youth Artists Present at the Racine Public Library

Families are invited to participate in a variety of free and entertaining Spring events hosted by the Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh St. All programs are free and open to the public; no registration is necessary. For more information, contact the Youth Services Dept. at 262.636.9245 or visit the library's website at racinelibrary.info.

Kids ages 5-10 and their families are invited to attend a musical evening event on Monday, May 17 from 6:30-7:30 pm with a special performance by the Racine Kiwanis Youth Symphony Orchestra, Symphonette, and Children's Choir. The evening will feature, not only fabulous music by talented young musicians, but poems and short stories read to the music of the symphony orchestras. The event is free and no registration is necessary. Younger siblings are welcome to attend this wonderful event.

You won't want to miss the library's enthusiastic storytellers for the final "On the Road" Saturday storytime. Each month, the storytellers perform a Saturday morning event for kids ages 3-10 and their families and Cup of Hope, 507 Sixth St. The final event of the season will be held on Saturday, May 29 at 9:30 am. Kick off your Memorial Day weekend with and hour of interactive storytelling and crafts with your young ones. Enjoy a leisurely morning of quality family time and a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.

School age children in grades 1-5 are invited to spend 15 min. reading to one of the library's specially-trained listening dogs in the award-winning Ruff Readers Program. Our loving canine friends visit the library after school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and provide a fun way for kids to practice reading to a non-judgmental and gentle listener. Time slots are available on a first-come/first-served basis. Call the library at 262.636.9245 for available times and to reserve a reading spot.

Thursday, October 15: Racine Public Library Presents New York Classical Guitarist Peter Fletcher

"Mr. Fletcher is one of the finest and most accomplished guitarists now appearing before the public. "

- Nylon Review

www.peterfletcher.com

The Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh St., will host a free concert performed by award-winning New York classical guitarist and recording artist Peter Fletcher on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6:30 pm. The event is open to the public and seating is available on a first come/first served basis.

This concert will feature selections from Fletcher's 2008 CD release on Towerhill Recordings, Peter Fletcher plays Music of the Baroque (TH72022), www.towerhill-recordings.com. Other repertoire will include the Lute Suite no. 1 in E minor of J. S. Bach; Fletcher's transcritions of Erik Satie and Edvard Grieg; Usher-Waltz, an intense work by Russian guitarist and composer Nikita Koshkin; Andrew York's Sunburst and music of Weiss and Reusner. The concert will culminate with Carlo Domeniconi's Koyunbaba, an unusual and exciting piece written for guitar.

Peter Fletcher began guitar study at the age of seven under classical guitar instructor, John Sutherland. In December, 1983, he made his formal debut at the age of fifteen under the auspices of The Brasstown Concert Association in North Carolina. Wrote the critic of The Cherokee Scout, "He has technical facility but what one remembers about his playing is the nuances, the poetical phrasing, dynamic and tonal changes, his harmonics, his cadences."

Fletcher has studied extensively with world renowned classical guitarists such as Jose Tomas, David Leisner, David Russell, Oscar Ghiglia and Pepe Romero. In 1995, he received the Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music under Nicholas Goluses, and was twice the recipient of an Eastman Graduate Award.

In demand as a performer, Mr. Fletcher has been invited to give recitals at cultural venues throughout the country. He made his New York Debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in February 2007, and returned in March 2009.

Peter Fletcher's three recordings, The Art of Classical Guitar, A Peter Fletcher Recital and Federico Mompou: Guitar Works (Centaur Records CRC 2588), have received critical acclaim.

In September '05 Centaur Records released Peter Fletcher plays Erik Satie (CRC 2731). Steven Rings from The American Record Guide states: "The works all sit very nicely on the guitar, and Fletcher's performances are taut and incisive, counteracting the common tendency to play Satie's music like sleepy New Age."

His current release, Peter Fletcher Plays Baroque Music for Guitar, was released last October on the Tower Hill Records label. Mr. Fletcher's next recording project for Centaur involves an all-Grieg album, for which he himself is writing the guitar transcriptions. Scheduled release date is Fall '09.

Interview inquiries with Peter Fletcher may be directed to Michael Martinez, 212-712-7362.

Listing Information:
WHEN: Thursday, October 15 at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh ST, Racine, WI
FREE ADMISSION

Authors, Musicians and More Cross-Pollinate at BONK!

The next event in the Racine Public Library's "BONK!" performance series will take place on Saturday, April 25 at 6 p.m. at Blueberries restaurant, 418 Sixth St. in Racine. This month's BONK! will feature performances from poet Stephen Kalmar, musician Chris Marvin, spoken word artist Dasha Kelly, and comedian TP Lucas.

Created to expose the public to both local and nationally recognized artistic talents, the series showcases poets, writers, musicians, film makers and all sorts of talents in between. A completely free program, doors open at 5:30 p.m. with seating available on a first come/first served basis. Blueberries restaurant offers food and drink to be purchased at the events. Each BONK! event features a short question and answer session with the artists at the end of the performances.

Dasha Kelly is an accomplished writer, performer and public speaker: She has written for magazines such as Upscale, Black Enterprise and Milwaukee; her narrative essays appear regularly online including OnMilwaukee.com; her 2003 novel, All Fall Down, earned her a place in Written Word Magazine as one of the Top Ten Up-and-Coming Writers of the Midwest; she performed on the season six premiere of HBO presents Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam; she has released four recordings of her poems; her commissioned one-woman show, Anthems for Grown Folks, is being developed into a traveling production; and she works extensively as a keynote and motivational speaker. Dasha is working on a second novel and recently released a collection of poems, essays and short stories with Penmanship Books called Hershey Eats Peanuts. Locally, she is founder and director of Still Waters Collective, an outreach initiative utilizing creative writing as tool to build new models of leadership and empowerment. For more information visit her website at dashakelly.com.

TP Lucas has been in the comedy game both on and off the stage for more than 16 years, working with some of stand-ups hottest stars, including Damon Williams, Sommore, Shawn Morgan, and Chastisy Washington among others. Lucas has been a pioneer in the development of Midwest urban comedy, booking sell-out shows throughout Wisconsin. He currently runs the only full service entertainment company in Wisconsin, 3-M.C. ENTERTAINMENT, working to launch national careers for local talent. His current performance schedule can be found at myspace.com/racinecomedy.

Kelly and Lucas will be joined on stage by Stephen Kalmar, who will share his poetry, and by Chris Marvin, a local musician who has been featured in several performances at the 716 Gallery in Kenosha and other venues.

Local artists and performers are encouraged to consider sharing their talent/craft with the community via the BONK! series. For more information on how to participate or to view past performances, visit bonkperformanceseries.wordpress.com. You may also contact the Racine Public Library at 262.619.2571, Becky Spika at becky.spika@racinelibrary.info, or Nick Demske at nick.demske@racinelibrary.info.