Instead of looking back, as one might do when celebrating a 25th anniversary, Ron Cunningham of the Sacramento Ballet seems always to look forward. The latest ballet company production is Modern Masters Proteges, in which Cunningham invited three former dancers with the Sacramento Ballet to create new works for it. Jared Nelson, a Yuba City native who, after a stint with the local company, has danced for about a dozen years with the Washington Ballet; Ilana Goldman, who danced several seasons in Sacramento before moving on to the Trey McIntyre Project and then to the University of Washington where she’s soon to graduate with an advanced degree; and Amy Seiwert, who became resident choreogr

How many acoustic rap/ballad medleys have you heard lately? Does hip hop mix with classical music or are there strict rules that say this cannot be done? Whatever the rules are, Chris Goslow loves to experiment beyond musical boundaries with different styles. Part of his multicultural slant on music comes from growing up in San Francisco and studying music at U.C. Berkeley. Another part of his diversity comes from a love of many styles that covers a wide spectrum of music. He now makes a living performing and teaching music in Sacramento while being happily married to photographer Charr Crail, who has worked for the Sacramento Bee and now does freelance photography and digital art. Chris

“Romeo & Juliet” is one of the greatest love stories of all time. It’s also one of the most tragic. Shakespeare’s tale of  two star-crossed lovers is brought brilliantly to the stage in the Sacramento Ballet’s production, with continues through Sunday at the Community Center Theater. The ballet opens the 25th anniversary season of choreographer Ron Cunningham and his co-artistic director (and wife) Carinne Binda with the dance company. Cunnigham has reworked the ballet, which had its premiere with this troupe in 1992, and has only made it better. The plot is familiar to practically everyone, although seeing its story danced rather than spoken may be a new experience. The program provides

  Pete Nowlen, whose VITA Symphony Orchestra will perform Saturday at CSUS, has two audiences to serve. First there is the classical-music audience that comes to hear and enjoy this group of emerging professional musicians. Then there is the group of artists themselves. VITA stands for Vocal and Instrumental Teaching Artists -- and Nowlen helps to guide the musicians into a successful, satisfying career. Saturday's program "all flows from (Antonin Dvorak's) New World Symphony," Nowlen said. "One of the reasons that I wanted it to flow from that piece was Dvorak's intent when he composed it. It really pointed the way for American music to come." Other pieces on the program, all from the 2

The April 1 concert by Celtic music group Colcannon closed the 59th season of shows presented by Sacramento Community Concert Association. Many thought the season would never take place -- some in the organization had even urged a hiatus the year before -- but not only did Season 59 come off, it was so successful that Season 60 was announced at that concert. SCCA president Elaine Myer, a former board member who assumed the presidency two years ago, was proved right when she said the organization could survive -- and thrive again -- if it faced the new economic reality of arts presentation. For all of its first half-century, SCCA was a full-season-subscription-only concert promoter. The sho

St. Mark’s third annual Bravo Bach! Festival continues with three concerts this weekend. The first and the third feature local pianists with burgeoning careers. The middle show, on Saturday, features a jazz cabaret with the Joe Gilman Trio riffing on Baroque themes. That popular concert sold out last year. The festival, which presented three concerts last weekend, continues at 7:30 p.m. today with pianist Anyssa Neumann playing keyboard music of Bach, Handel and Couperin. Neumann grew up in Sacramento, studied at Sac State, and performed at the first Bravo Bach! Festival. She performs nationally and internationally and is noted for her “deep connection to the Bach repertoire.” In addition

The third annual St. Mark’s Bravo Bach! Festival opened Friday with an evening of music by . . . Handel. The six-concert series, which continues today and Sunday and April 27, 28 and 29, is -- like the more-famous Carmel Bach Festival -- a celebration of Baroque music in general, with an emphasis on “the music of the immortals, J.S. Bach and G. F. Handel.” A 19-piece orchestra and 28-voice chorus under the direction of festival artistic director Jack D. Miller performed Handel’s “Messiah parts II and III” and, as was the custom in his day, an organ concerto, this one the concerto in F Major, opus V, no. 5. The “Messiah” is Handel’s most popular work, but it’s usually Part I that’s perform

The Bravo Bach Festival is almost a month away, but already one of the event's concerts is on its way to selling out. The Baroque Jazz Cabaret, scheduled at 7:30 p.m. April 28, is a perennial festival favorite. "Last year, we had to turn away people at the door," said Jack D. Miller, artistic and musical director of St. Mark's United Methodist Church, which presents the festival.  The cabaret features the Joe Gilman Jazz Ensemble performing improvizations on Baroque themes and melodies. "Bach himself was an improviser. I think he'd be quite comfortable with what Joe Gilman's doing," said Miller, who has two music degrees from the University of Southern California. Gilman's concert is pre

Davis musician Antoinette Clinton, who goes by her stage name, Butterscotch, is releasing her first EP this fall called “Perfect Harmony.” A music video directed by Robyn Twomey for the album’s title track is going to released online in a few weeks. Butterscotch, who is known for her incredible beat-boxing, will be doing a lot more than just recording music. She will also be performing at the fifth annual Davis Jazz and Beat Festival on Oct. 22. The event will include her along with many other performers and will be located at 521 First St. in Davis. In recent months, she has traveled to places as far away as Hong Kong and Germany. “A lot has happened lately,” Butterscotch said, referri

Who knew a bari-tenor could have groupies? Josh Groban put on an excellent show Wednesday night at Power Balance Pavilion. Groban began the show on a stage in the center of the arena, dozens of Grobanites, as they are called, swarming around the raised platform. “You guys are circling like sharks,” said Groban. His show was spotted with comedy, which was a rather delightful surprise. One doesn’t necessary expect to laugh at a Josh Groban concert, and in fact, everyone did – and frequently. Throughout the show he was tremendously interactive with the audience. “I had a Starbucks earlier,” said Groban. “I’m really sorry.” It would be interesting to know if this is the vibe and character

Composer, arranger and pianist Pablo Ziegler will bring his "Beyond Tango" arrangements of jazz tunes infused with tango rhythms to the Mondavi Center at UC Davis Friday night. He is a 2005 Latin Grammy Award winner for “Bajo Cero,” which won Best Tango Album of the Year. Ziegler was born in Buenos Aires and said he worked with the piano first. “I started at the age of 5,” he said. He studied at the Buenos Aires Music Conservatory and graduated as a piano professor and said that he has been playing jazz music since he was 15. In 1978, Ziegler joined Astor Piazzolla’s quintet and toured with the Argentine composer. Piazzolla is famous for his tango music and bandoneón playing and intro

Tempo, a new group of young professionals, is working to create a new venue for networking while helping other young people discover the Sacramento Philharmonic. “We formed because we wanted to help support the philharmonic and all the good things they do in the community,” said Laura Braden, one of Tempo’s founders. Braden said that in addition to playing classical music concerts, musicians from the philharmonic volunteer to teach music at schools that cannot afford music programs as well as performing in hospitals for kids and cancer patients. Tempo will host themed cocktail parties or receptions in conjunction with philharmonic performances, and the first one will be Thursday. Thurs

Capital Public Radio’s Annual Used Record & CD Sale will be held Saturday and Sunday June 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This year’s sale will once again take place at the Howe ‘Bout Arden shopping center, 2100 Arden Way, Suite 172 in Sacramento. The Annual Used Record & CD Sale offers music and movies for hugely discounted prices. Last year, approximately 1,000 people took advantage of the great deals on vinyl records, DVDs, audio books, videogames, and more. There are diverse formats of audio and other entertainment to choose from in a variety of genres. From LPs to CDs, video games, and VHS to Blue Ray DVDs, all types of media have been collected over the past months All musical gen

Here are some of the concerts and music events happening this weekend and next week in the Sacramento area. For more detailed information on these events and many more go to the www.eMusiConnect.com homepage.   Concerts, Music Events, and The Sacramento Music Scene This Week: Friday, June 4th: Friday Night Concerts in The Park at Cesar Chavez Plaza on 10th & J Streets in Sacramento. This week: Method Echo - The Nibblers - Live Manikins. Concerts are Free and run from 5-9PM. All Ages/Beer Garden for 21+ Cirque Du Soleil Alegria continues through Sunday at Arco Arena. Tickets are $40.00 - $90.00.  Friday, June 4th: Summer Soul Fest with Tony, Toni, Tone, Lisa Lisa, The Jets and more at

With a focus on strengthening and expanding its news, information and public affairs content, Capital Public Radio has named Joe Barr Director of News and Information Programming.   In this new position, Barr, who previously served as Capital Public Radio News Director, will oversee the station’s news and information format, including local news, the daily talk show Insight, the California Capitol Network statewide news service and the Second Opinions health care forums as well as national news programming on CPR.   Capital Public Radio will soon be creating two more News and Information positions: a senior editor and business reporter. The station will be opening a bureau in Stockton

Capital Public Radio Introduces JazzStream 24-Hour Online Jazz Music Capital Public Radio today introduced JazzStream. This new resource explores the vibrant artistry of jazz online, 24 hours a day at www.capradio.org/jazzstream. In addition to the new JazzStream, Jazz fans can find expanded online radio options in the “On Demand” section at Capital Public Radio’s website, capradio.org. Signature programs like Acid Jazz, Classic Jazz and Swing or Mick Martin’s Blues Party are frequently updated. Listeners tuning to Capital Public Radio’s news/jazz stations enjoy public radio’s non-commercial format, and that extends to online and on-demand content. “At a time when commercial radio stati

Musical genius and understanding exudes from piano duo Anthony and Joseph Paratore, who performed Thursday, January 14th at the Sacramento Community Center Theater in the Convention Center Complex. It was the first appearance of the internationally acclaimed brothers in Sacramento. The performance consisted of the brothers playing several orchestral compositions on two pianos unaccompanied. The first, a classical score by Sergei Rachmaninov, showed the power and strength of their musical talent with heavy notes and soft undertones. The brothers then played a condensed version of the "Nutcracker" suite which was as beautiful as it was perfectly on-point. After intermission, the Paratores

Delve into the romance of the Viennese operetta with tenor Hannes Busch, soprano Rufina Anatolevan-James and pianist Schinnerer Deffner. This Sunday, September 27 at 3 p.m., enjoy a luxurious hour of 13 operettas by timeless composers Emmerich Kálmán, Franz Lehár, Johann Strauss Jr. and Carl Zeller. The Classical Concert is presented by the Crocker Art Museum. Due to construction for the Museum’s expansion, the concerts now take place on the Sacramento State campus in Capistrano Hall. A renowned opera and concert singer, Busch was educated at the Opera Studio of Hannover, Germany, where he was later engaged as a soloist for operettas. He has also been a recipient of the prestigious Puccin