Entertainment : Red Cedar Chamber Music plans Brinton Silent Film Project at Palace

Red Cedar Chamber Music brings The Brinton Silent Film Project to the Vinton Palace Theatre at 210 W 4th St. in Vinton, Iowa at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2015. Tickets are only $10. The Brinton Silent Film Project features Red Cedar Trio members, flutist Jan Boland, guitarist John Dowdall and cellist Carey Bostian, performing live to accompany “an exceptionally rare, perhaps unique, collection” of silent films from 1895-1910. These films, being viewed for the first time in over 100 years, comprise “perhaps the most significant collection of early films in the world.” Film owner and historian Michael Zahs will also be on hand to discuss the films and John Hegarty will portray Frank Brinton, the original owner of the films who showed them across Iowa from 1895-1910. The concert features the premiere of new music by Harvey Sollberger, which accompanies four of the films. Arrangements by Boland and Dowdall and music from Red Cedar Chamber Music's repertory complement the remaining 18 silent films, ranging in length from 10 seconds to 10 minutes. The films include comedy, drama, special effects, foreign scenes and magic by Georges Méliès, whose life story was featured in the film Hugo. Ticket price TBA. For tickets, call (319) 472-9958. For information call 319/377-8028 or visit www.redcedar.org/schedule.html. Red Cedar Chamber Music's partners in the project include the Ainsworth Opera House, Special Collections at the University of Iowa and Humanities Iowa. Sponsored by The National Endowment for the Arts. Artist sponsorship by Don and Irene (Naxera) Hamous and Vic & Jan Naxera in memory of Max Naxera. Additional support provided by the Vinton Palace Theatre.

Harvey Sollberger's commission is funded by The Augustine Foundation.

Presented in collaboration with the Vinton Palace Theatre. Jan Boland, Executive Director of Red Cedar Chamber Music, holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Iowa and her Method for the One-Keyed Flute, published by University of California Press, is the standard text for baroque flute instruction. John Dowdall, Artistic Director of Red Cedar Chamber Music, studied guitar performance at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna and holds a Master’s degree in musicology from the University of Iowa. Boland and Dowdall are co-founders of Red Cedar Chamber Music and each has received a Solo Artist Fellowship from The National Endowment for the Arts. Carey Bostian is a multifaceted musician with an active performing career as a chamber musician with College Street Music and Red Cedar Chamber Music. Carey is also a master educator and the conductor and artistic director of the Iowa City Community String Orchestra. Michael Zahs is a historian with a consummate knowledge of this home state of Iowa. In 1988, Michael helped Ainsworth Community Together purchase and renovate the Ainsworth Opera House where Frank Brinton showed silent films at the turn of the 20th century. Harvey Sollberger is a composer, conductor and flutist from Marion, IA. His compositions have been performed by the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony. He has been Composer-in-Residence at the American Academy in Rome and with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. John Hegarty is a retired educator who enjoys volunteering for Red Cedar Chamber Music. He is a board member and portrays Frank Brinton while serving as projectionist for The Brinton Silent Film Project.