Arts

Last month, longtime Pierre music teacher Jeannette Beemer was honored for her lasting legacy with a 2015 Governor’s Award in the Arts for Outstanding Support of the Arts by an Individual.

In the early 20th century, hundreds of Native Americans from tribes around the country were sent the Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians. Located in Canton, South Dakota, the institution wasn’t so much a place to treat people with mental health problems as a place for Native Americans who refused to assimilate in white society.

A pair of performances from the 35th Annual Sioux River Folk Festival highlight this week's show.

Before committing herself to music full-time six years ago, singer/songwriter Kyshona Armstrong was as a musical therapist working with infants, autistic, inmates and the elderly. Today she describes herself as a "rogue musical therapist" who brings the healing power of music to audiences around the country.

Baritone Louis Otey grew up in Flandreau, South Dakota dreaming of being a basketball player, not an opera singer. In fact he'd never heard an opera until he sang in one. But during his 35 year career, Otey has performed with leading theaters around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera.

Nirmala Rajasekar is regarded as a master of the an Indian stringed instrument called  the veena. Her music comes from the Carnatic tradition of her native southern India. She now lives in Plymouth, Minnesota. She’s giving a concert Thursday evening at the National Music Museum in Vermillion. Museum's director Cleveland Johnson has studied music in India. He joined Dakota Midday and discussed Carnatic music and the artistry of Nirmala Rajasekar.

CMT Edge called the Barefoot Movement one of the most promising bands on the bluegrass scene.  In October, the Nashville-based quartet received the Momentum Band of the Year Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association.

The past 12 months have been big ones for Augustana College writer-in-residence Patrick Hicks. A year ago, he published his debut novel, The Commandant of Lubizec. He also came out with a new poetry collection, Adoptable. Hicks has just released his debut book of short stories, The Collector of Names.

Sarah, Hannah, Eva and Liza Holbrook form the acronym SHEL, a folk/pop powerhouse from Ft.

The music of the Brandon Sprague Blues Band can pick you up and drop you right in the middle of a rib cook-off or a summer music festival.  Their blues menu ranges from Texas swing to New Orleans, from Kansas City to electric and beyond.  The Deadwood-based Sprague has played the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally since his teens.  He started playing guitar before the age of 10.  B.B.

Colorado guitarist Trace Bundy doesn’t play the guitar the way most do. He frequently uses both hands on the fretboard, tapping out notes with his fingers to create an intricate mix of melody, harmony and rhythm. His guitar skills have earned him the nickname “Acoustic Ninja.”

Before pursuing a full-time music career, Bundy taught rock and ice climbing and was an adjunct civil engineering professor at University of Colorado Boulder.

Singer and actress Audra McDonald has won six Tony Awards. Her most recent came for last year's performance as legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. She received her first Tony in 1994 for her role in a production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel.

In the two decades since that break-out performance, McDonald has appeared on both Broadway and opera stages and on film and television.

Before she became a full-time musician, California banjo playing singer/songwriter Erin Inglish worked as sustainability engineer. Her work took her to the the Balkans, India, Madagascar and other countries. Today she addresses environmental concerns through music.

On Tuesday, February 17 at the Suzie Cappa Art Center in Rapid City, artists will share the stage with storytellers as they illustrate, in real time, stories as they unfold. It’s a part of a new, quarterly event called the Art Legacy Project. The purpose is to capture stories with the visual arts and remind us of the art we too easily take for granted in our everyday lives. Art Legacy Project organizer Peter Franz joined Dakota Midday.

From his cool jazz sessions through his modal jazz explorations to his rock experiments, trumpeter Miles Davis had a tremendous impact on music. Although he died 1991, his musical influence continues. The JAS Quintet explores the music of Miles Davis from 1954 to the early 1970s in a sold out Friday night concert at the Prairie Berry East Bank in Sioux Falls. Trumpeter Jim Speirs joined Dakota Midday and discussed the legacy of Miles Davis and efforts to create a thriving jazz community in Sioux Falls.

Over the course of two years, Arts Midwest World Fest brought four international bands to Sisseton for concerts and workshops. Last week the final group shared music from the Yunnan province of southwest China, playing traditional songs with a modern twist.

Through original compositions and traditional songs, the four musicians of Shanren mix their indigenous music with modern styles from around the world. Shanren comes from  southwestern China and the musicians describe their music as Chinese ethnic reggae rock fusion.

The late 1960s were a golden age for what today is called sunshine pop. This was a time when vocal groups like the Association, the Mamas and Papas, Fifth Dimension and others hit the top of the charts with cheerful songs about riding in beautiful balloons and winsome girls handing out rainbows.

The middle of the 20th century was the heyday of the pin-up girl, when colorful, illustrated images of playful, attractive young women were created for calendars, magazines and print ads. Pin-up girls were morale boosters during World War Two keeping servicemen company. Some illustrations were reproduced and painted on the noses of military aircraft.

Musicians, actors and artists from the University of South Dakota are being showcased  in Sioux Falls on Saturday. The talents of both students and faculty are featured on stage and in the lobby for “USD Night at the Washington Pavilion.”

The event begins with a 5 pm reception hosted by the USD admissions office with work by art students and faculty in the lobby. Performances begin at 7:30.

The Hill City Slickers first met in church choir and were brought together by their mutual interests in singing, playing music and telling bad jokes. Their music is perfect entertainment for sitting around a campfire. During summer months they frequently perform at campgrounds in the Black Hills.

Sean Chen won the won the Crystal Award at the 2013 Cliburn International Piano Competition, becoming the first American to reach the finals since 1997. His repertoire ranges from Bach and Beethoven to Scriabin and Elliot Carter. He’s also a proponent of contemporary music, performing new works by today’s composers. Last year International Piano magazine named Chen "One To Watch."

Brian Masek is no stranger to JazzFest.  His band, Brian Masek and Friends, played the second stage last summer.  It's hard not to find something to like about the group's fusion approach which combines jazz, rock, blues and funk.  The bass guitar is the band leader's instrument of choice.  Masek played in rock bands like Ivory, Closet Monster, Leghorn and the Toby Kane Band.  He eventually became intrigued by the improvisational aspects of jazz.  The other players in Brian Masek an

Matuto's infectious music finds a unique place where Brazilian rhythms meet Appalachian fiddle tunes. There are also healthy doses of jazz, blues, rock, Cajun and other influences. The musicians in the New York City-based band follow their ears to wherever they may lead.

Over the past few years, Scurfpea Publishing of Sioux Falls has produced an annual anthology of poems. It’s a juried competition with a different editor each year. The editor for the latest collection, Memory, Echo, Words, is Norma Wilson. She taught English at the University of South Dakota for 27 years before retiring a decade ago. She’s author of the recent chapbook, Under the Rainbow: Poems from Mojacar. Wlson joined Dakota Midday and discussed the process of selecting the poems included in the book.

This is the second appearance for Jalan Crossland on No Cover, No Minimum Radio - but the first with his full band.  The singer/songwriter from the small town of Ten Sleep, Wyoming draws in music fans with his homespun appeal.  He writes songs that are relatable to the listener whether the tune's lyrics are funny or thought provoking.  His latest CD, "No Cause For Despair," was released last summer.  Eleven new compositions highlight the project.  Longtime collaborator and bass player Shaun Kelley and drummer and percussionist Pat Madsen joined th

Although he now lives in Minnesota, Steve Linstrom grew up in western South Dakota and worked in Pierre. He was fiscal analyst for the Legislative Research Council, director of research for the South Dakota Board of Regents and the state director of Information Services.

On Saturday in Custer, a massive, 28-foot likeness of a pine beetle will be set on fire in a ceremonial response to the bug that’s ravaged forests in the Black Hills. This is the second year for the Burning Beetle. The event is part of the Bark Beetle Blues efforts using arts to discuss the pine beetle infestation.

The event begins at 3:30 pm at Custer High School with music and a video of last year’s Burning Beetle. Participants then march to Pageant Hill where the beetle is set on fire. At 6:30 pm, the Bug Crawl takes place in downtown Custer with live music at several venues.

With a smooth sound bringing together elements of funk, R&B, rock and traditional jazz, Jeff Lorber Fusion set the table for the late 70's jazz fusion movement.  Lorber began playing the piano at the age of four.  The Philadelphia native took a liking to jazz while attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.  He formed Jeff Lorber Fusion in Portland, Oregon after his schooling.  The group quickly released five albums from 1977-81 and rose to the top of the jazz fusion scene.  Lorber would release over a dozen more solo studio albums

Poet Jim Reese finds inspiration in such ordinary things as bowling alleys, classrooms, bumper stickers and children’s drawings. He also draws upon his experiences as an English professor at Mount Marty College in Yankton, his work teaching poetry to prison inmates and his life as a father to a couple of young daughters. His poetry also frequently finds the strangeness and humor in the familiar. Reese is out with a new collection called Really Happy and he joined Dakota Midday and shared a few poems from the book.