Brian Newhouse named to Minnesota Orchestra post; Twin Cities Horror Festival to open

We heard his voice on Friday nights for more than 25 years as he hosted Classical MPR’s live broadcasts with the Minnesota Orchestra. He signed off in June 2019 and retired from MPR in May 2020.

It seems retirement wasn’t his thing. Brian Newhouse has taken on a new role: associate vice president of individual giving for the orchestra he knows so well.

Starting Nov. 2, you may hear his voice again, if you’re a donor. Maybe you’ll become a donor so you can hear his voice again.

Newhouse also joined the orchestra on many of its tours abroad, leading broadcasts from London, Havana, Soweto, Amsterdam and Lahti, Finland.

“For a joyful part of my life, I got the privilege of connecting the Orchestra’s magic to radio and digital audiences,” Newhouse said in a statement. “This new role is in many ways a natural next chapter.”

Seen on Facebook: “Holy cow … I did not see that coming!”

Newhouse will begin his new position next Monday, Nov. 2, the day before Election Day.

Minnesota State Arts Board offers more Creative Support for Organizations grants

The Minnesota State Arts Board has announced another, broader round of its Creative Support for Organizations grant program. The application deadline will be in December.

In early April, facing a vastly different arts landscape from what had existed a month earlier, the MSAB suspended all but one of its existing FY 2021 grant programs. It would continue to award Operating Support grants, but eight other programs including Artist Initiative, Arts Tour Minnesota and Minnesota Festival Support would be paused.

In July, MSAB announced two new grant programs for FY 2021: Creative Support for Individuals and Creative Support for Organizations. (It also announced a third new program of federally-funded MN CARES Act grants.) The application deadlines were in August and September.

The latest round of Creative Support for Organization grants will be open to a wider range of applicants. Arts affiliates of nonprofit or public institutions may apply. So may nonprofit organizations whose primary mission or focus is not the arts, but who have an ongoing commitment to arts programming and have received an Arts Board or RAC grant in fiscal years 2017, 2018, 2019 or 2020. Public entities with an ongoing commitment to arts programming that have received an Arts Board or RAC grant in those fiscal years may also apply.

Organizations that were eligible to apply in August or September but didn’t will still be eligible to apply.

Application materials will be available by early November.

One Book, One Minnesota, chapter 3

Louise Erdrich’s book “The Plague of Doves” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Published in 2008, it became the first book in a series of three that continued with “The Round House,” winner of the National Book Award, and “LaRose,” winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction.

Thanks to the Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, you can read “The Plague of Doves” for free, then come together with other Minnesotans for a statewide discussion with Erdrich in December.

This is the third title in the Friends’ statewide book club, One Book | One Minnesota, that launched in April with Kate DiCamillo’s “Because of Winn-Dixie” and continued in July with “A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota.” Presented in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Education, One Book | One Minnesota aims to bring Minnesotans together and highlight the role of libraries as community connectors.

FMI including download link, registration for the author discussion at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8, resources and more.

The picks

V is for virtual, L is for live and in person.

V Now on YouTube: Black Label Movement and Ragamala Dance Company at TEDxMinneapolis 2020. The activities and chats aren’t available, but you can watch videos of all three sessions that took place over the weekend. Highly recommended: Black Label Movement in Session 1 and Ragamala in Session 3. Led by Carl Flink, Black Label Movement worked with Dr. Jon Hallberg at the University of Minnesota on protocols to keep the movers safe while they rehearsed and performed. The final moments are almost unbearably tender and beautiful. Stick around for Flink’s talk. Ragamala’s performance is three solo dances – one each by Ashwini Ramaswamy, Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy – from the big new project they’re working on, “Fires of Varanasi,” which will close Northrop’s 2020-21 hybrid season in May. It’s rare to see lengthy solos from all three. Don’t miss this.

V Now through Thursday (Oct. 29) at the St. Ann’s Warehouse website: “The Tempest.” Directed by Phyllida Lloyd (“Herself,” “The Iron Lady,” “Mamma Mia!”), this all-female production is set in a present-day women’s prison, with Harriet Walter (“Herself,” “Killing Eve,” “Belgravia,” “Star Wars: Episode VII”) as Prospero. You’ve never seen a “Tempest” like this before, filmed up-close and intense. It’s part of the Donmar Warehouse (Covent Gardens) All-Female Shakespeare Trilogy, which also includes “Julius Caesar” (with Walter as Brutus) and “Henry IV” (with Walter as the king). Wish we’d known about these sooner so we could have tipped you earlier; the other two streamed previously. If you’re willing to binge, all three will be available this weekend, Friday-Sunday (Oct. 30-Nov. 1). Each runs 2 hours. Here’s the trailer.

V Thursday (Oct. 29) on Zoom: UMN English Writers Series: Hanif Abdurraqib. Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist and cultural critic whose next book, “They Don’t Dance No Mo’,” an examination of black performance and the legacy of blackface and minstrel shows, will be published by Random House in 2021 and is already on our must-read list. His previous books include the New York Times bestseller “Go Ahead in the Rain.” This event will be a combination reading and conversation with Douglas Kearney. 7 p.m. Free. Register here.

V Thursday through Saturday (Oct. 29-31) on YouTube Live: Twin Cities Horror Festival Season 9. Violence, murder, psychological horror, abuse, blood, swearing … What do you expect? It’s a horror festival! This year’s is virtual but still has all the scares. Five new works will premiere, including a staged reading of a work-in-progress musical in development for 2021. Each evening will feature special guest hosts: the Coldharts (Thursday), Nissa Nordland and Ryan Lear (Friday), Duck Washington and Matthew Kessen (Saturday). Includes “Anthology,” a collection of short horror films from Taj Ruler Presents and “Leslie Vincent Presents Three Knocks: Three Halloween Cabarets,” with spooky songs and stories performed by Vincent and friends including Christina Baldwin, H. Adam Harris, Jeremy Messersmith and Sally Wingert. 5:45 to midnight each night. Pay-what-you-can; any amount gives you access, with suggested prices of $15 per show, $55 for an evening pass and $120 for a weekend pass. FMI including schedule and payment link.