Inside the Arts

One of the longest-running foreign language festivals in the country is gearing up for its 24th celebration as the New Orleans Film Society presents the 2021 New Orleans French Film Festival. The event will showcase contemporary and classic French language films. New Orleans Film Society artistic director Clint Bowie joins us by phone with a sneak peek at this year's highlights. The 24th New Orleans French Film Festival runs March 23 – 31. All films will be screened with English subtitles. More info is online at neworleansfilmsociety.org

Luke Fleming founding artistic director and violist with the Manhattan Chamber Players is bringing members of the ensemble to New Orleans. It will be their first concert before a live audience in a little over a year, as such performances were canceled by the Pandemic. The concert entitled, The Soulful Clarinet, is being presented through Fleming's popular Crescent City Chamber Music Festival. Luke joins us by phone. The Crescent City Chamber Music Festival presents the Manhattan Chamber Players in concert Sunday, March 21st at the Historic Felicity Church on the corner of Felicity and Chestnut Streets. The event is by reservation only. RSVP to: crescentcitycmf@gmail.com. More info is on the website crescentcitychambermusicfestival.com

A homegrown, now, international chamber music festival is celebrating a major milestone. New Orleans' own Birdfoot Festival is turning 10 and plucking its strings with a virtual season devoted to its signature Backstage Performances. Birdfoot artistic director and violinist Jenna Sherry joins us by phone. Birdfoot Festival kicks off its 10th Anniversary Season on Sunday, March 14th with Philadelphia's renowned Jasper String Quartet. For more information and a full schedule of events visit the website birdfootfestival.org

Acclaimed African-American composer, pianist and native New Orleanian, Courtney Bryan, is the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra's first Creative Partner. She is releasing a new work on the LPO digital series, Orpheum Sessions. It's a violin concerto she calls Syzygy. Courtney joins us by phone. Courtney Bryan's violin concerto, Syzygy, will be performed by Jennifer Koh on Friday, March 12th @ 7:00 pm, as part of a digital concert which will also feature works by Carlos Simon an Aaron Copland. More info @ lpomusic.com

The Historic New Orleans Collection is celebrating the voices of Black Activists as it launches the virtual 25th Williams Research Center Symposium. Recovered Voices: Black Activism in New Orleans from Reconstruction to the present day explores the origins and legacies of Black activism in the Crescent City as featured in three new Historic New Orleans Collection publications. Jessica Dorman director of publications and student education with the Historic New Orleans Collection joins us by phone. The symposium runs March 5th thru 7th. More info on this virtual event can be found online at hnoc.org/symposium-2021.

A four month residency at the Joan Mitchell Center inspires award winning multi-disciplinary artist José Torres-Tama to return to his first love, painting. We see a different side of the artist who is known for his performance solos, Taco Truck Theatre Ensemble and photo documentation of immigrant reconstruction workers post-Katrina. José is in a creative period and he joins us by phone with a sneak peek at his latest works.

The Louisiana State Museum is celebrating African American Carnival traditions with the opening of a new exhibit at the Presbytere. It’s called Mystery in Motion: African American Masking and Spirituality in Mardi Gras. Guest curator and Xavier University Professor of Education Kim Vaz-Deville joins us by phone. The exhibit will be on display through November 28, 2021 inside the Presbytere on Jackson Square. More info is available online at louisianastatemuseum.org

City Park is offering Carnival revelers an opportunity to view iconic floats from a variety of Mardi Gras Krewes in a parade-type experience called Floats in The Oaks. City Park COO Rob DeViney joins us by phone. City Park’s Floats in The Oaks runs February 4 th thru 14 th . More info is online at neworleanscitypark.com.

Musaica Chamber Ensemble is reconnecting with audiences as it continues its 15th season. Its second concert, Bridges between Countries, will be a live streaming event from the University of New Orleans. It will feature a world premiere of Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra principal bassist Dave Anderson’s Nonet for strings, winds and harp. Musaica founder and violist Bruce Owen joins us by phone. The concert will take place on Tuesday, February 2nd @7:30 pm. More information about this online streaming event can be found on the website musaica.org.

The character of America’s first black Renaissance man comes to light in the New Orleans debut of The World is My Home: The Life of Paul Robeson. It’s a one man show, written and performed by Los Angeles actor and playwright Stogie Kenyatta. It opens this weekend at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center. Stogie Kenyatta joins us by phone from L.A. Performances run Saturday, January 23 rd at 7:30pm and Sunday, January 24 th at 2:00 pm at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Drive. More info is online at jpas.org.

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is imagining a world without racism as it honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We talk with museum educator Mikhayla Harrell. More info is online at ogdenmuseum.org.

World renowned opera stars, native son Bryan Hymel and his wife Irini Kyriakidou kick off the New Year with their favorite arias and duets in a virtual concert presented by the New Orleans Opera. We talk with New Orleans Opera general director Clare Burovac. The concert takes place on January 15 th at 7:30pm. More info is online at neworleansopera.org.

The NOLA Project makes a bold move as it brings a new series of plays to audiences using digital technology. The digital series is called PodPlays. We talk with NOLA Project artistic director A. J. Allegra by phone. Ticket info is online at www.nolaproject.com/podplays.

The lovable cast of characters from the fictional New Orleans bar, Benny’s Tavern, are back sharing virtual holiday cheer and music. Southern Rep Theatre continues its run of Mandatory Merriment: This Time It’s Virtual, through December 26 th . We talk with co-creator and director Leslie Castay. Ticket info is online at www.southernrep.com.

Le Petit Theatre continues its run of A Nola Noël. It’s an original Holiday musical playing LIVE on Le Petit’s touring stage in parks and outdoor spaces in the metro area. The work is co-written by playwrights Curtis Billings and Max Williams. Max also directs this production and he joins us by phone.

Dr. Luke Fleming has been the driving force behind the popular Crescent City Chamber Music Festival. The New Orleans native who headed the Manhattan Chamber players has returned home, a result of the pandemic, and he vows to keep the music alive. Fleming is the newly-appointed violist of the Lott String Quartet, the Quartet-in-Residence for the School of Arts at the University of New Orleans. He joins us by phone.

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra is creatively keeping the music alive during the pandemic, thanks to digital technology. LPO resident conductor and music director, Carlos Miguel Prieto joins us by phone with the latest on what you can expect from the orchestra in 2021.

Conversation with Preservation Resource Center executive director Danielle Del Sol. Six gorgeous homes will be featured in a festive video series highlighting the city’s diverse neighborhoods and architecture, as the PRC’s 45th annual Holiday Home Tour is going virtual this year.

Award winning multi-disciplinary artist José Torres-Tama is back with a new solo performance arts piece. It’s called Immigrant Dreams & Alien Nightmares. It’s a bilingual performance in two parts and two nights. The work is inspired by Torres-Tama's poetry collection of the same title. It’s a deep dive into the underbelly of the “American Dream”. José Torres-Tama’s solo performance piece, Immigrant Dreams & Alien Nightmares will be streamed Via Zoom and FaceBook Live on Friday & Saturday, Dec. 4th & 5th at 8pm. More info at www.torrestama.com. There is now an extended run with performances on Dec. 11th and 12th.

Conversation with New Orleans Opera General Director Clare Burovac.