DAD intern Michele Loftus gives you her “Must See, Must Hear, Must Taste” list for this Friday’s Summer Block Party.

Summer already feels like it’s here so you know what that means…it’s time for the Arts District Summer Block Party! Join us this Friday night (June 17th) in the Dallas Arts District from 6pm-midnight. I’m giving you the goods some of the evening’s highlights, including where to eat, what to see, what to do, and some great deals that are not to be missed.

1. Food trucks?
Yes, after a lengthy process, the City Council has approved food trucks in the Arts District for good, and you’ll start seeing them more around the neighborhood soon. Get a taste Friday night as we bring in some new choices and returning flavors for you.

Fresh on the scene:
Nammi- Vietnamese Fusion
Ssaham- Korean BBQ (see video on Kimchee fries, definitely have to try!)
Gandolfo’s- NY Deli
Trailercakes- Cupcakes

Old favs:
City Street Grill- wraps
Yum Yum- burritos, tacos

If you can’t find something you like out of these choices or you’re hungry for more, each of the District’s museums will offer their own refreshments too:

Crow: Chill Bubble Tea from 6pm-8pm (free samples!)
DMA Seventeen Seventeen: Late Night Tapas & half price bottles of wine from 6pm-9:30pm
Nasher Cafe: Picnics and Snack Bites by Wolfgang Puck from 6pm-9:30pm

2. Concert to check out
At 9pm, Dallas-based choral symphonic pop rock outfit The Polyphonic Spree takes the stage at Ross Ave. Plaza–definitely one of the bigger acts to perform outdoors in the Arts District to date. If you’re not a fan, you may at least be familiar with The Spree from a few movies, TV shows, and commercials (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, Scrubs, and a 2004 Volkswagen Beetle campaign just to name a few). They’re a little extravagant (the band features over 20 members), but they put on an enlightening show worth experiencing. Check out the video for one of their more popular songs “Light And Day” to decide for yourself. If this performance draws a crowd like the DMA’s Jazz Under the Stars series (which it surely will), you might want get there early to save your spot.

The DMA has also set up a couple Polyphonic Spree related events, including a screening of the Mike Mills’ film THUMBSUCKER at 7pm for which the band provided the soundtrack. 

Spree member Luna Matto will be serenading the District with her sultry solo project at 10pm at Flora St. Plaza. Ft. Worth-based folk rock outfit Calhoun will also play at the Flora St. Plaza prior to Luna Matto at 9:15pm.

Not your scene? Head over the Nasher lawn at 9pm. They’re showing The Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? complete with a performance by the Milo Deering Bluegrass Band.

3. Art work, of course
Naturally, being in the Arts District, you’re going to be surrounded by our fabulous museums and at some point, you’ll probably need to get out of the heat and make you way inside to cool off with some cool art. If you want to be exposed everything, check out the progressive museum tour, starting at the Nasher admissions desk at 8pm. It will take you through the highlights of each of the museum’s collections.

If you’re planning on being out and about in the streets for most of the night, you might be looking for an opportunity to chill out towards the end of the evening. Luckily, we’ve got two intriguing options that will help you make it to midnight and round out a great block party.

-Head over to the Nasher at 11 pm for their Countdown to Midnight in James Turrell’s skyspace  Tending Blue (that room at the north end of the sculpture garden with an opening in the ceiling). Sitting in there on a normal day can be pretty calming. Add in subtly changing lights and the night sky and you’re set.

-Also at 11pm is the EnLIGHTenment Tour in the Jade Room at the Crow Collection. Relax in the dark and see the art like never before. In the dark? Yes, the twist on this tour is that it’s presented with flashlights. Wind down your night and learn a thing or two about the collections the Crow’s “After Dark” way.

4. Sweet deals 
All night: Get half-price general admission ($5) at the Nasher and DMA by showing your ticket from any ATTPAC performance from this week to the admissions desk.

7-8pm: Tweet into the night with the Nasher, DMA and Crow Collection to win memberships to the museums through their Museum Art Challenge on Twitter. Here’s the deets:

How well do you know the three art museums? One tweet every thirty minutes (three tweets total) with the hashtag #ArtHunt will provide a clue to where to find a work of art. Grab a token at each work; be the first to find all three works of art and you could win a membership to all three Museums.

Admission to both the Nasher and the DMA is required; Joint tickets are $16 or less.

7:00 p.m. @DallasMuseumArt

7:30 p.m. @NasherSculpture

8:00 p.m. @Crow_Collection

Hashtag #ArtHunt

10:30pm: Complimentary beer sipping at the Crow for After Dark Karaoke with DJ Mark Ridlen (gotta be 21).

So these are just a few things to look forward to at our Summer Block Party. Get all the details on our website and find a full schedule here. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter all night to stay updated on what’s going on around here. And be sure to throw in the hash tag #SummerArt!

DAD intern, and music student at Wheaton College, Johanna Fleisher recently sat down with Dallas Symphony Orchestra head of Operations Department, Mark Melson, to learn about his work and how DSO has artistically changed over the years. The DSO has been an integral part of the Dallas Arts District for many years and continues to makes plans for bringing art and music to the Dallas community.

How did you begin your career in arts administration and later with the DSO? 

I’ve always loved classical music and I played a number of instruments as a kid an in high school, but I didn’t think I was really good enough to be a professional musician. My major was journalism, and I was a newspaper reporter for a while after college, and then a music critic. I got interested (while I was working with one of the local orchestras) in orchestra management, and I decided to make a clean break and go to the American Symphony Orchestra League’s Orchestra Management Training Program and then I started in this field…I’ve been at the Dallas Symphony since 1985.

What kinds of things do you do on a day to day basis at the DSO? 

The department that I oversee is in charge of concert production. We don’t sell tickets. We don’t raise money. We present concerts and everything that implies. That begins with scheduling the orchestra, reserving the hall, or whatever other venue we play in. We manage tours. I’ve manage three European tours for the Dallas Symphony, five trips to Carnegie Hall, [and] concerts in Asia and Mexico…We assist in choosing repertoire and guest artists for many of the concerts. We book many of the guest artists, negotiate fees, and sign the contacts. We take care of them when they’re here-hotels, transportation and all of those sorts of things. We oversee a lot of performance equipment, pianos [and] the organ. We liaise with the Meyerson and work with them. We decide where the acoustical setting will be for any given rehearsal or concert. We negotiate record contracts, national production,[and] anything that has to do with putting a concert on.

What do you find most rewarding/challenging about your job? 

The most rewarding thing is going to the concerts and hearing this great orchestra, the many different conductors and soloists, and a wide variety of repertoire. The tours are often the most rewarding, although they’re absolutely the hardest work. But, to hear the orchestra in London, Vienna, and Berlin, and many other cities and hear them cheered and applauded, just gives you a nice warm feeling inside.

In what ways do you and the DSO try to reach out to the Dallas community?

Well we’re in a period right now where we’re doing a lot of community concerts. We do ‘Parks Concerts’ for the city of Dallas. We do six of those a year in various parks…We also do a concert for the Latino community and also for the African American community. We do those at the Meyerson. We have a huge educational outreach. We do 24 youth concerts here at the hall and school kids are bussed in for those. We send ensembles to the schools to perform. We also have this wonderful program called Young Strings where members of the orchestra teach kids who normally would not be able to afford music lessons. We teach string instruments to these Latino and African American students. Many of them have gone on to major conservatories and get into music professionally.

The Meyerson Symphony Center has been an important part of the DSO’s history. How has it impacted the orchestra and other artists who come to perform in Dallas? 

First of all, and this is not just hometown cheerleading, this is one of the greatest halls in the world. Architecturally it’s fascinating and beautiful, but acoustically it’s really special. Symphony orchestras play in halls acoustically without amplification in most cases…So the hall itself has to be an instrument, and this is a fabulous one! I’ve heard concert halls all over the country and all over the world, and I’ve heard our orchestra in many of these other halls, and I can never get back here soon enough…I just love hearing the sound of the orchestra in the hall.

You’ve been through 3 different musical directors since you started working with the DSO, Eduardo Mata, Andrew Litton, and Jaap van Zweden. How have these transitions impacted your work and the DSO as a whole? 

The orchestra and its repertoire tend to reflect the music director himself and the music director’s wishes and tastes. All three of these conductors conducted a really broad repertoire-a wide spectrum. Eduardo was probably the leading champion of music by Latino composers, and Dallas was known for that when Eduardo was music director. Andrew Litton was a terrific player and conductor of Gershwin, Shostakovich and Mahler… Then he had this outgoing, warm personality that reached out across the footlights that people liked. [He] was a good ambassador for us. Jaap van Zweden, [is] more European [and] very intense. He does a little bit more contemporary music by European composers than the other two music directors, but he also has a very wide repertoire. He, also, has extremely high standards and he works everyone, orchestra and staff. [It’s] very hard to meet his standards and his view of what this orchestra should be doing. ‘Intensity’ would probably be the word for Jaap.

In what ways has the DSO expanded it’s repertoire over the years? What kinds of audiences has the organization been catering to?  

Well, the repertoire has always been very broad. We try to keep a nice balance on the classical side between the new and the traditional, between the familiar and the unfamiliar. We have an obligation to introduce some new music to audiences, but also an obligation to program a lot of the pieces that they know and love. It’s a balancing act…We have two main series, the Classical Series and the Pops Series and they both have different audiences. We also play concerts for the Latino and African American communities, lots of concerts for school children, and we do this big series, these 12 Christmas concerts, every year which somehow brings a whole new audience. So, there are a bunch of different audiences and I just hope it keeps growing.

How do you feel that the expansion of the Dallas Arts District has affected the DSO and the Dallas community as a whole? 

You know, when we moved here, (and I was here for the groundbreaking)in 1985, the Meyerson Symphony Center was an island. I mean, we were surrounded by parking lots or open lots, or unfinished constructions sights. The Cathedral [Santuario de Guadalupe] has always been across the street, so that was the one building nearby, but we were just surrounded by a lot of unfinished or not yet begun things. Now, we’re part of a real arts district. We’ve got buildings next door, and buildings across the street, and there’s still a few parking lots, but we’ve got this high rise luxury hotel going up a block over. So, I think it will attract and has already attracted more people just coming down here. If we can get some more restaurants and more shops, maybe a DART rail closer to the Arts District, this is going to be a happening place with lots of people.

Beatlemania invaded the Dallas Arts District last night, as Twist and Shout – the aptly named Beatles tribute band – plugged in and turned it up to 11 at the Meyerson Symphony Center presented by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. And a twisting and a shouting there was, as young and old alike were literally dancing anywhere they could – in their seats, at the lip of the stage, and even up and down the aisles – as was the case for one particular fan who was really feeling the “Revolution.”

But hey, why not? After all, we are talking about the music of what is arguably the most influential, well-known, and well-loved band in the history of music. As front man (and McCartney carbon copy) Tony Kishman stated from the stage, Twist and Shout provides an experience to relive the magic of the Fab Four as well as the opportunity to experience something new, hearing songs live that the band never got around to playing in such a way. And that’s just what the night was; a night of old and new, for those who saw the Beatles live when they were young and, even if just for this one night, were transported back in time to what it was like to be a screaming, dancing (and maybe even crying) fan. And for those who are young now but are just as inspired and in love with the music of The Beatles as their parents.

If The Beatles set out to make people “Come Together” with their music, then Twist and Shout continues the pilgrimage.

This is exactly the type of entertainment you can’t find anywhere else in DFW but the Dallas Arts District. You can enjoy a meal at a hip new (and delicious) boutique burger joint like The Commissary at One Arts Plaza then take the complimentary Art Cart over to the show. You don’t even need a “Ticket To Ride!”

Stay tuned to TheDallasArtsDistrict.org for more performances like this, as well as all other events in the Arts District. There’s something for everyone on every night!

If you need a break during the chaos of this football-centered week, be sure to stop by the Dallas Arts District.

Here’s our 10 suggestions that will entice locals and visitors alike:

January 24-February 7

1. ) Tei An Rooftop Lounge Open til 2AM
5:00pm-2:00am

Tei An, the award-winning Japanese restaurant, will open its exclusive rooftop lounge to the public for a limited time.  The rooftop lounge will be tented and heated and offer a beautiful view of the Dallas Arts District to diners.  More Information

February 1

2. ) First Tuesdays at the Dallas Museum of Art
Price: FREE!
11:00am-5:00pm

Enjoy family activities such as story-telling, arts-making and performances.  More Information

February 3

3. ) Thursday Nights Live at the Dallas Museum of Art
Price: $10 Adults, $5 Students, $7 Seniors
5:00-9:00pm

Live jazz music, performances and more! More Information

4. ) Yoga in the Galleries at the Crow Collection of Asian Art
Price: $15 for public, $10 for Friends of the Crow Collection; FREE for Crow Collection Wellness Members
5:45-6:45pm

Experience the calm of Yoga in the Crow Collection galleries. More Information

February 3-5

5. ) Premiere Percussion with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Price: $17-$113
8:00pm

Jaap van Zweden and percussion ensemble D’Drum come together to perform several works, including the premiere of Gamelan D’Drum by Stewart Copeland, drummer from The Police. More Information

February 5

6. ) Dallas Arts District Architecture Walking Tour
Price: $10 Adults, $5 Students, $5 Seniors
10:00-11:30am

The Dallas Arts District and Dallas Center for Architecture present an architecture walking tour of the district on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month.  More Information

7. ) First Saturdays at the Nasher Sculpture Center
Price: FREE!
10am-5pm

Enjoy family activities, including scavenger hunts, art-making and sculpture demonstrations.  More Information

8. ) AdventureAsia Family Day at the Crow Collection of Asian Art
Price: FREE!
10am-5pm

Enjoy family activities, including face painting, story-telling and more.  More Information

9. ) Arts & Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of Art: Tony and Lauren Dungy
Price: FREE!
3:00pm

Join former coach of the Indianapolis Colts Tony Dungy and his wife Lauren as they discuss their newest children’s book, You Can Be a Friend.  More Information

February 6

10. ) One Arts Plaza Restaurants Celebrate The Big Game
5pm-2am
Screen Door, Fedora, Jorge’s and Tei An will feature The Big Game and stay open late for those who wish to continue the festivities!  More Information

For more information about the Dallas Arts District, including museum hours, dining, hotels and parking, visit TheDallasArtsDistrict.org.

What is State of the Arts?

State of the Arts is not your typical lecture series. We bring together two people in the arts world with different backgrounds. The idea is to try and create something conversational and unexpected. We bring together artists, musicians, and arts administrators, many of whom have never met each other, and end up with these amazing stories as a result. One of my favorites was last September with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Jaap Van Zweden and artist Trenton Doyle Hancock. They are both two completely different people, but were really interested in meeting each other. Jaap told a story of how he first started playing music, he was inspired by some traveling musicians that he saw and expressed an interest in playing violin to his parents, but his parent’s didn’t want to invest too much in case it was just a whim. So Jaap’s first violin was rented. You find out things in this series that you wouldn’t otherwise if you heard these individuals speak at a traditional lecture event, such as the fact that Trenton Doyle Hancock plays the drums every single day.

Jeff Whittington, Jaap van Zweden and Trenton Doyle Hancock

How did the State of the Arts series get started?

State of the Arts was started in 2009 as a response to the upcoming opening of the AT&T Performing Arts Center in October 2009. The Dallas Museum of Art had an exhibition, All The World’s A Stage, to celebrate the opening, and wanted to create a lecture series that would discuss where the Dallas arts are headed now that the AT&T PAC was opening. We wanted to include fine arts, theater, opera, creative arts administrators and more. Our first event featured Veletta Forsythe Lill, Executive Director of the Dallas Arts District, and Ann Williams, Founder and Artistic Director of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, both women who have been intricately involved in the Dallas arts scene for many years.

A lot of the first season was focused on programming: How do you plan, respond to the audience and program? This season has focused more on how audiences respond to art.

What is your favorite past conversation?

Each conversation has been completely unique. One of our events was with Charles Santos, Executive Director of TITAS and a former dancer, and Arlington Jones, a musician. These two individuals had never met before, and it was absolutely fascinating to hear them discuss the creative process and how they each respond to audience reactions in their own art forms. One of our earlier ones included visual artists Tom Orr and Frances Bagley, who designed the set for the Dallas Opera’s 50^th Anniversary production of Nabucco, and Kim Campbell, a musician and Executive Director of the Dallas Wind Symphony. They discussed how they approach preparation and presentation for their respective art forms. I think my favorite was the one with Jaap Van Zweden, he had this amazing idea of creating artwork as performance and performance as artwork. How much does the audience have to understand to appreciate the art form? Jaap had a theory, a way he approached his work, to just let it all go once you get onstage. The countless hours, the problems encountered, the stress, just let it all go.

Why is this different from other lecture series?

My goal as a moderator is to get the two guests talking to each other, and ultimately to get people talking about the arts and what’s happening in the arts in North Texas. The result is a series of amazing moments. This is not so much a lecture series, but more a series of conversations that are intended to bring together artists and those passionate about the arts, engage the audience and challenge the way we see the arts by presenting the arts from various points of view.

Our upcoming conversation on January 13 includes Annette Lawrence, an artist featured in the Big New Field: Artists in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium Art Program exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art, Brian K. Trubey, an architect with HKS Sports Entertainment Group who worked on Cowboy’s Stadium and Charles Wylie, Dallas Museum of Art curator and member of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium Art Council. Here, we will explore the role of public art. Public art creates challenges, you have control to an extent, but there are many factors you can’t control, which can be a really great thing and a bit unnerving all at the same time. The art at the Cowboy’s Stadium raises a lot of questions. We will explore the original idea, the process and the result. To date, Cowboy’s Stadium has had 1 million people attend events, 1 million people attend tours, and 3 million total visitors. How does the art affect them? Do they understand the art? Do they even need to understand the art to be affected?

Who would you recommend to attend this series?

I feel that these conversations are important to anyone who cares about the arts and preserving arts and culture in the North Texas community. The themes we are tackling are essentially the same across all areas of the arts. The speakers are top leaders in the arts, from performing artists and curators to arts administrators, having thought-provoking conversations about the arts. Why is this kind of conversation important today? Because there are fewer and fewer places where art is discussed in a public forum like this. I am paraphrasing Gene Jones, but she once stated that “Sports and art are alike… they’re a respite from the routine and the hard work that we do everyday”, and that’s why they are so important in our culture.

You can learn more about State of the Arts at DallasMuseumofArt.org. Admission to State of the Arts is included in general admission to the Dallas Museum of Art

My grandparents are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, so I really wanted to get them a kind of romantic gift to celebrate this milestone.  The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is presenting Russian Romance January 13-15 with tickets starting at $28.  I got them 2 tickets at $31 each for a total of $62.  They really enjoy attending the Symphony and this will be a special night that they can spend together to celebrate their anniversary.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra Store has a ton of great gifts for both serious and casual music lovers.  My brother-in-law plays a little piano, guitar, and you can always catch him singing in the car at the top of his lungs.  He just moved into a new apartment and cooking for himself for the first time.  I found a great apron at the DSO store that says “Treble in the Kitchen” ($24.95) and paired it with a set of microphone-shaped kitchen tongs ($12.95).

Now he can rock out in the kitchen (and hopefully not burn his dinner in the process).  Total cost for this gift is $37.90.

My Christmas shopping list is finally complete!  Here’s a recap of all the gifts I got for my list:

1. Younger Sister – Coloring Mat from the Lotus Shop at the Crow Collection of Asian Art – $27
2. Parents – Tickets to TITAS’s production of KODO Drummers of Japan – $38
3. In-Laws – Tamales from Jorge’s – $40
4. Older Sister – Tickets to the Dallas Museum of Art’s Gaultier Exhibit – $40
5. Husband – Tickets to the AT&T Performing Arts Center Lexus Broadway Series production of Young Frankenstein – $60
6. Cousin – Dallas Arts District Membership – $65
7. Aunt & Uncle – Tickets to Arts & Letters Live, Julie Burstein – $60
8. Sister-In-Law – Book Everything That Can Happen in A Day and 7-Year pen from the Nasher Sculpture Center – $39.50
9. Brother – Tickets to Dallas Theater Center’s Dividing the Estate – $30
10. Best Friend – Tickets to Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Cultural Awareness Series – $20
11. Grandparents – Tickets to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Russian Romance – $32
12. Brother-In-Law – “Treble in the Kitchen” apron and microphone-shaped kitchen tongs – $37.90

My mission for this list was to find all my gifts in the Dallas Arts District and to keep them under $50.  I spent a bit over $50 for some gifts, but spent less on others.  The average price of my gifts was $35.78, keeping me well under budget.

Hope you enjoyed my shopping journey and enjoy the rest of the holidays!  Happy New Year!

Phew!  Only two more to go, and Christmas is sneaking up fast!

Tickets start at $15.  I got my brother 2 tickets, so that’s another gift complete for $30!

Tip:  Youth tickets (ages 18 and younger) are $15 for any seat as long as they are accompanied by an adult ticket.  Perfect for families!

“Leave a bouquet of flowers in a taxi for the next person.”

“Locate the exact opposite side of the earth from where you are now.  Make a photograph pointing to this location on a map.  Hang this on your wall to remind you where the farthest distance away from you on earth is.”

“In a public place, line up ten oranges and leave them.”

“Spend an entire day not knowing what time it is.”

There is one challenge per page, plus space to leave your own notes (or pictures of people’s reactions!).   It just seemed like the perfect book for someone who likes to live life to the fullest.

The book is $27.95 at the Nasher Sculpture Center Store.  I also got her a pen that has a 7-year ink supply to use to take notes in the book ($7.95).  That brings this gift’s total to $35.90.

Tickets are $30 a piece for a total of $60 altogether.  A  bit over my budget, but then as I calculated in the last budget, I have an extra $30 to work with that I saved on other gifts.

7th gift bought and checked off the list!