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Just in time for holiday gift giving three area musicians recently announced the release of a pair of original instrumental albums with an unusual twist. All proceeds will be donated (via bandcamp.com) to Lexington’s Central Music Academy (www.centralmusicacademy.org).

“Songs from Quarantine, Volumes I and II” is the work of Archipelago — Dr. Scott Whiddon, Dr. Kevin Holm-Hudson and Dr. Jim Gleason, all of whom are professors at Transylvania University, University of Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky University, respectively.

The 17 original compositions were recorded remotely between May and September for release in November.

The Central Music Academy was founded in 2004 in Lexington to provide free musical learning opportunities for financially disadvantaged kids. A non-profit 501(c)(3), CMA and its dedicated teachers have given more than  40,000 free lessons to more than 1,000 students in all areas of musical performance and to all levels of learners.

“Songs from Quarantine I and II” began as texts among three occasional musical colleagues.

“While it reflects our experiences through the pandemic, we also saw an opportunity to shed some light on locally-based nonprofit organizations such as CMA,” Whiddon said.

“The economic impact in recent months has been considerable, and they deserve more attention than ever.” CMA Director Erin Walker Bliss notes. “It’s been a challenging year for everyone while we adapt to the changes caused by COVID-19. However, the Central Music Academy has continued teaching our students through creative virtual lessons and we’ve found new ways to connect when our kids needed it most! While CMA’s lessons look different this year, our mission still remains — providing free quality musical training to economically disadvantaged children.”

“In the end, this project is about creativity, collaboration, and community building,” adds Whiddon.

The musicians perform regularly solo and with groups such as Letters of Acceptance, the Twiggenburys and the Johnson Brothers, and all are prolific songwriters.

In addition, Whiddon was music director for the Harry Dean Stanton Festival until 2018, and Holm-Hudson is the author of the respected text “Music Theory Remixed” (Oxford UP). Gleason engineered and produced the project.

“Songs from Quarantine Volume I” became available on bandcamp.com on Nov. 1 and then on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming platforms on Nov. 15.

Volume II became available on bandcamp.com Tuesday, and will be available on Spotify and other streaming platforms on Dec. 15.

 

‘Uncommon Grackle’

The Gateway Regional Arts Center (https://www.grackentucky.org) in Mount Sterling produces arts events for the community ranging from films to make-and-take crafts, musicians, speakers and art exhibits. S

ince 2018, the GRAC has also produced a twice-annual literary magazine called the “Uncommon Grackle.”.

“It was intended,” according to Allen Blair, the Grackle’s editor, that the magazine be a “platform for local writers” to showcase their talents in their communities.

“At the same time,” he continued, “we wanted to provide a new arts experience for GRAC patrons” because our literary events seldom extended beyond the “occasional author’s visit.”

The zine has become the crucial literary link between the organization’s community, its patrons and locally held readings.

According to Blair, “a writer could submit to ‘The Uncommon Grackle’ and connect with an audience of readers, and both could then come together to recite and listen during in-person events, which in turn would inspire more writers, as well as graphic artists and photographers, to submit their creations.”

The arts center’s hope is to position zine as a regular creative outlet for not only the local community, but also for the Gateway region and beyond, much as the Leeds Center for the Arts is attempting with its zine CiQ (Creativity in Quarantine).

Blair, who is also a past chair of the GRAC, admitted that “the challenges we have faced in producing arts programming during the pandemic have been formidable. But, with the support and brainstorming of our staff and volunteers, we have focused on evolving our arts opportunities to meet the needs of patrons through virtual platforms, take-home art and activities, and other creative ways. Much like art always has done, the center has embraced new opportunities in a changing world.”

“As such, we’re also looking at new opportunities for ‘The Uncommon Grackle,’” Blair said. “While we haven’t finalized all the details, we’re hoping it will evolve into a type of online platform that still provides local writers and readers the ability to connect. Perhaps a print edition will be part of the offerings, or perhaps not. It’s still too early to say what will happen, but we’re confident that the literary zine will continue and that it will grow into something even better.”

Bill McCann is a playwright, poet, flash fiction writer and teacher who writes about arts events and personalities. He can be reached at wmccann273@gmail.com.