Music
“When I Rise Up,” an online concert of gospel, folk and rock music, will be presented by the Minnesota Boychoir at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 1, at youtube.com/mnboychoir. The 100-voice group will sing everything from Billy Joel to local composer J. David Moore to a song from The Muppet Movie. The concert is free to watch, and will be available on demand after the April 1 premiere.
“The Seven Last Words of Christ,” a contemplative work of seven sonatas composed by Franz Joseph Haydn for a Good Friday service in 1787, will be performed by the Artaria String Quartet on YouTube at 7 p.m. Good Friday, April 2. Photographs of current events related to the seven words will be shown before each of the sonatas. Tickets are by donation, and $20 is suggested. Visit artariaquartet.com.
The Minnesota Orchestra will open a series of seven free Friday night concerts with the live-streaming of “A Musical Passport” at 8 p.m. on April 2 at minnesotaorchestra.org. Conductor Sarah Hicks, violinist Felicity James and special guest Rick Steves will be featured in a program that pairs music from around the world with travel reflections by musicians. Selections will be played from Barboteu, Liadov, D’Rivera, Mozart, Piazzolla, Rossini, Grieg and Coleridge-Taylor, Komitas and Haydn.
The Church of the Lost Souls, a 12-week concert series featuring guitarist Billy McLaughlin, his band SimpleGifts and special guests, will continue at 4:30 p.m. Sundays through May 2 at the Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Ave. S. in Minneapolis. SimpleGifts includes singers Karen Paurus, Amy Courts and Kathleen Johnson, instrumentalist Laura MacKenzie and drummer Billy O. Joining them will be Willy Wisely on April 4; Dean Magraw, Carin Vagle and Tim Frantzich on April 11; and Turn Turn Turn on April 18. Ninety-two seats are available in the theater (25 percent capacity). Tickets are $29 in advance, $39 at the door. The concerts will also be live-streamed with tickets priced at whatever you like. For reservations, visit theparkwaytheater.com.
The Minnesota Orchestra will continue its series of free Friday night concerts with the live-streaming of “Outliers and Intrigue” at 8 p.m. on April 16 at minnesotaorchestra.org. Conductor Marc Albrecht and pianist Simon Trpčeski will be featured in a program that includes Herbsttag (Autumn Day) by Del Aguila, Piano Concert No. 1 by Shostakovich and Symphony No. 4 by Schumann.
Books
Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., will host free online readings and discussions with authors Patry Francis and her novel, All the Children Are Home, at 7 p.m. Monday, April 19; and Laura Maylene Walter and her novel, Body of Stars, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 20. To register for the link, visit nextchapterbooksellers.com.
Subtext Books, 6 W. Fifth St., will host free online readings and discussions with authors Jim Heynen and his short-story collection, The Youngest Boy, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 13; and Jana Larson and her mystery memoir, Reel Bay: A Cinematic Essay, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 14. To register for the link, visit subtextbooks.com.
Dance
Minnesota Dance Theatre artistic director Lise Houlton and dancers will explore themes of the classic fairy tale “Twelve Dancing Princesses” and how those themes resonate today in Exploring Enchantment from 7:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 15. The online program is being offered free of charge until two hours before curtain time. To register for the link, visit thecowlescenter.org/tickets/exploring-the-enchantment.
Exhibits
“Outer Experiences: Black Life in Rural and Suburban Minnesota” is on view through June 20 in the window galleries of the Minnesota Museum of American Art, 4th and Robert streets. The exhibition was curated by JoJo Bell, executive director of the African American Interpretive Center of Minnesota. It features photographs by Chris McDuffie and an oral history of Black Minnesotans about their experiences in small towns and living on the margins of society.
A retrospective of the 50-year career of ceramicist Mike Norman, featuring his allegorical and poetic sculpture, is on view through April 18 in the Emily Galusha Gallery at the Northern Clay Center, 2424 E. Franklin Ave. in Minneapolis. The exhibit includes new works by the Minnesota artist made just for this exhibition. Norman, 82, will discuss his life and his artistic process in a free online program from noon-2 p.m. Saturday, April 10. For more information, call 612-339-8007 or visit northernclaycenter.org.
Et cetera
Saint Paul poets, aspiring and professional, could have their verse stamped in concrete by entering the city of Saint Paul’s 2021 Sidewalk Poetry Contest. Writers may submit up to three poems of no more than 300 characters each, including spaces. The poems may be in English, Spanish, Somali, Hmong or Dakota. Winners will receive $100 and have their poem stamped in new city sidewalks beginning this summer. For contest details, visit publicartstpaul.org. To view a map of sidewalk poems already stamped, visit stpaul.gov/sidewalkpoetrymap.
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