Here is a quick update of what’s going on and what might be of interest to you.
Today, Sunday, January 17, 2016, at 3:30 p.m. at the Pioneer Memorial Log House of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, 1510 Cambridge, opposite Gate 3 of the Houston Zoo, http://www.sanjacintodrt.org/pioneer.htm.
Marec Béla Steffens, librettist of the Gálvez opera, author of five books of fairy-tales, and honorary Granadero, will read from Thyme Will Tell – excerpts from the manuscript for his next book in which an old-fashioned European highwayman will continue to his next adventures, and he will read from his libretto for the Gálvez opera – now expanded with a scene where Governor Gálvez is visited by British Governor Chester who complains about the support of (then neutral) Spain for the Americans fighting for their independence.
Tomorrow, Monday, January 18, 10:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., American Red Cross Building, 2700 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77098, German language classes begin at the German Institute of the Southwest: http://germansouthwest.org.
On Saturday, January 23, 2016, 7:30 p.m., the Houston Saengerbund will hold its First Annual German Singing Competition. Six finalists between the ages of 21 and 30 will compete for $7,500 in price money. The panel of judges includes Rick Erickson, Director of the Bach Society Houston, Antoine Plante, Artistic Director of Mercury: the Orchestra Redefined, and Dr. Joyce Farwell, Professor Emerita of Voice, Rice Shepherd School of Music. The competition will take place at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1311 Holman Street, Houston, TX 77004. Admission $5.
On Thursday, January 28, 2016, 6:30 p.m., Houston-Leipzig presents Dr. Hans Boas, Director of the Linguistics Research Center, German FrameNet and the Texas German Dialect Project at the University of Texas. American Red Cross Building, 2700 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77098. Members $10, Nonmembers $15, Students $5. RSVP to angelika@houstonleipzig.org. Read an article about Dr. Boas’ work, The Last Gasps of Texas German, at http://www.vice.com/read/the-last-days-of-texas-german-253 .
On February 6, 2016, Rustin Buck, Director of Houstonfest invites you to come and be a judge at Houstonfest German Contest. See a letter by Rustin Buck on our website http://houstonleipzig.org/2015/12/29/judges-needed-for-houstonfest-german-contest/ or check out http://houstonfest.org.
On February 23, 2016, 6:30 p.m., Sister Cities of Houston will honor German Consul General Ricarda Redeker at its Networking dinner at Kris Bistro & Wine Lounge, the gourmet restaurant of Culinary Institute LeNôtre. More details will be forthcoming. Meanwhile, if you wish to check out the restaurant, they are having a Mardi Gras Celebration – New Orleans Style on February 6; http://www.krisbistro.com/.
Make your reservation now! It’s time to plan for your trip to Germany with Dr. Robert Moore and Bach Society Director Rick Erickson from June 8-20, 2016. Join the Bach Society for their annual trip to the Leipzig Bach Festival! This year’s theme is “Secrets of Harmony.” The final concert — always the B Minor Mass! — will take place on June 20. For more details, check out this link: http://bachsocietyhouston.org/2016-bach-festival-leipzig .
And if you are in Germany, be sure to check out the permanent art exhibit brokenBRUSHES at the Kunsthaus Salzwedel, Neuperverstrasse 8, Salzwedel. Houston-Leipzig members Gus Kopriva and wife Sharon of Redbud Gallery in the Heights donated 79 prints by German Expressionist artists. brokenBRUSHES contains works by Max Beckmann, Lovis Corinth, Otto Dix, Max Pechstein, Lyonel Feininger, George Groß, Erich Heckel, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Oskar Kokoschka, Kaethe Kollwitz, Max Liebermann, Franz Marc, and others. Common to all artists in brokenBRUSHES is the disruption or end of their lives during the Nazi era in Germany. The exhibit opened on January 14, 2016, and continues to 2023. For a picture of the exhibit see https://www.facebook.com/KunsthausSalzwedel, and for the website of the museum http://www.kunsthaus-salzwedel.com/.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and we hope we’ll see you soon!