The Norman Rockwell exhibit opened at the Crocker Nov. 10 and will close in less than one month. During its run, several special events have taken place. Perhaps you met Rockwell’s models, enjoyed some concerts, watched the film, “Stagecoach,” or participated in several studio art classes. The final special events take place this month and begin this weekend with the world premiere of “Big Dreams, Small Shoulders,” a multi-media performance piece based on Rockwell’s painting, “The Problem We All Live With.” Deborah Pittman composed the music and collaborated with other artists to create this piece. Pittman, a musician and professor of clarinet at California State University, Sacramento w

On Thursday, Nov. 29, at 6:30 pm.Crocker artist-in-resident and musician Deborarh Pittman will discuss the original performance piece, "Big Dreams, Small Shoulders," based on Norman Rockwell's "The Problem We All Live With." Pittman composed and collaborated with other artists on this project that will have its world premiere at the Crocker Art Museum on January 13, 2013. Thursday's discussion will be an interactive panel discussion where Pittman and the other artists will discuss their creative process and challenges. They will also present scenes from "Big Dreams, Small Shoulders," and they will answer audience questions. Space for this Thursday's 'til 9 event is limited, so arrive ear

The long-awaited exhibit, “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell,” has opened for a nearly three-month run at the Crocker Art Museum. Four years of planning have resulted in a fabulous exhibit, organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachuset, that includes many familiar pieces, such as “Girl at Mirror” and “Problem We All Live With,” and also many pieces that show Rockwell beyond the familiar role of illustrator. “Murder in Mississippi” is one of those pieces. At the preview event, this writer noticed several moist eyes from attendees who were moved by the painting that depicts three men in a barren, sepia-colored landscape littered with rocks. To the right,

  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