Ok, we’ve been talking about fall arriving for weeks now, but this week is the real deal. Grab a sweater and enjoy this weather while filling your cultural cup to the brim.
Ongoing…
FotoFocus Biennial 2022, “World Record” | Various venues. DETAILS: While the actual biennial programming runs through Oct. 8, FotoFocus-related exhibits inhabit the region for weeks to come. Take advantage of this visual bounty while you can.
Wednesday, Oct. 5
The Redmoor, “Living with Landslides” | 7:30 p.m. 3187 Linwood Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45208. DETAILS: Cincinnati has long dealt with landslides, but things have gotten worse in recent years thanks to development and intense precipitation. This film, commissioned by the Hillside Trust and produced by former WCPO reporter Laure Quinlivan, details the history, causes and costs of local landslides.
Thursday, Oct. 6
In one of the more unfortunate scheduling conflicts this year, two of America’s leading authors are speaking the same evening just two blocks apart. Nonfiction and fiction fans will have to separate along Walnut Street with the former going to the Aronoff to hear biographer Walter Isaacson (“Steve Jobs,” “Leonardo da Vinci”) and the latter group heading to the Mercantile Library to experience novelist James McBride (“Deacon King Kong,” “The Good Lord Bird”).
- Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library, Stern Lecture Series: Walter Isaacson | 7 p.m. Aronoff Center for the Arts. 513-369-6900. chpl.org/stern
- Mercantile Library, The Modern Novel Lecture: James McBride | 6 p.m. 414 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-621-0717. mercantilelibrary.com
Gallery Veronique, “Opera Singer Portrait Show” | 6-8:30 p.m. 11324 Montgomery Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45249. 513-530-5379. DETAILS: Full disclosure: I’ve known Kevin Rawlings since we studied voice and toured Russia and Poland together in 1977 while at CCM. Interestingly, it was backstage where he made his career as a make-up artist at New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. And it was via the Met that he had the opportunity to photograph some of the most famous opera singers in the world. A Danville, Kentucky native, Kevin returns to Cincinnati to share his photographic bounty via his friend Veronique Hammons’ Harpers Point gallery. The show is on display through Oct. 22.
Miller Gallery, “On Top of the World” | 5:30-7:30 p.m. 2715 Erie Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45208. 513-871-4420. DETAILS: Photographer Isaac Wright likes taking his work to new heights … apparently. Here’s a chance to find out what he has been “up to” lately in this FotoFocus-related event. On display through Nov. 12.
Friday, Oct. 7
Cincinnati Art Museum, “Galloping through Dynasties” | 953 Eden Park Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-721-2787. DETAILS: This new exhibit explores the evolution of Chinese horse painting and sculpture across 3000 years. The 60 works of art – drawn from the collections of leading U.S. and Asian museums– decode the symbolic language of horses in Chinese art and reveal rich information about China’s history and culture. Admission is free, through Jan. 1.
De La Dance Center, Fall for Dance 2022 | 7:30 p.m. 5141 Kennedy Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45213. 513-871-0914. DETAILS: This first of two Kennedy Heights dance programs this weekend (See also Saturday) pairs traditional ballet (excerpt from Petipa and Minkus’s “La Bayadère”) with contemporary choreography (works by De La artistic director Mario de la Nuez and former member Anna Leithart). Repeats twice on Saturday: 2 and 7:30 p.m.
DownTowne Listening Room, Steve Saunders w/ Olivia Frances | 7:30 p.m. Venue TBA. DETAILS: This series is one of the best-kept secrets in Cincinnati, or maybe it’s the attraction of being in a room where active listening is the priority that has maintained its loyal audience. If that’s your priority, then you will likely find Steve Saunders a treat to your senses. Beyond singing and songwriting, Steve is a first-class storyteller, too. Request an invitation through the website. Location is downtown, but a secret!
Essex Studios, Studio Art Walks | 6-10 p.m. 2511 Essex Pl., Cincinnati, OH 45206. 513-476-2170. DETAILS: Approximately 40 artist studios will open their doors for your visual immersion. The evening will also feature live music, a food and beer truck, and a special poetry reading on peace and justice by social activist and founder of SOS ART, Saad Ghosn. Repeats Saturday evening.
Saturday, Oct. 8
Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, “Disney’s Descendants: The Musical” | 2 & 5 p.m. Taft Theatre, downtown. 513-569-8080 x10. DETAILS: In a classic test of nature vs. nurture, four offspring of Disney villains are sent to school with the “good” kids, their sworn enemies. What path do they choose? Continues Sunday and next Friday through Sunday.
Great Parks of Hamilton County, Urban Farming Festival | 3:30-8:30 p.m. Great Parks Nature Center, 1580 Summit Rd., Roselawn. 513-521-7275. DETAILS: This second annual free community gathering will demonstrate how to incorporate sustainability practices at home, while also exploring the connections between nature and mindfulness, music and art. Plant seeds, sample local produce, meet farm animals and hear tunes from local musicians. The festival will also include an urban mini-hike, s’mores, local food trucks and yoga.
Revolution Dance Theatre, “Signature Works” | 2 p.m., 5 p.m. & 8 p.m. Kennedy Heights Arts Center. DETAILS: Cincinnati’s ONLY African American dance company is dedicated to building cultural diversity in the world of dance. Here they offer some of their company favorites as a season-opening sampler. Three chances to see David Choate and his company perform.
Studio Kroner, “Bodies of Sand: Life and Solitude In Death Valley” | 2-5 p.m. 130 W. Court St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. DETAILS: Photographer Matt Zory has more talent than should be allowed. Having just retired from decades in the bass section of the CSO, he has been expanding his photography practice over the past few years. These images are from a recent sojourn to Death Valley and reflect a physical vastness that is scary and soothing, even sensual.
Sunday, Oct. 9
Bach Ensemble of St. Thomas, Bach Vespers | 5 p.m. St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 100 Miami Ave., Terrace Park, OH 45174. 513-831-2052. DETAILS: This monthly service features a cantata of J.S. Bach, in this case “Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost” (Ah, dear Christens, be comforted), BWV 114. CSO principal flute Randy Bowman joins B.E.S.T. in excerpts from Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2, and the choir shares music by Richard Farrant and Paul Mealor.
Chamber Music Cincinnati, Karen Slack & Pacifica Quartet | 4 p.m. New Jerusalem Baptist Church, Carthage. 513-342-6870. DETAILS: A year ago, the CMC board inaugurated a duplication of its annual series to be held in prominent Black churches, welcoming their congregations and offering works by BIPOC composers. For year two, soprano Karen Slack, who helped premiere Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” at The Met, joins the multiple Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet in a varied program: selections from Terence Blanchard’s operas, songs by Florence Price and Margaret Bonds, Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 14 and a world premiere by James Lee III: “A Double Standard.” One of our Ray Cooklis’s M&M Must-See fall music picks. Repeats Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., at Memorial Hall in OTR.
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, “Carnival of the Animals”: Remix | 3 p.m. School for Creative and Performing Arts, Over-the-Rhine. 513-723-1102. DETAILS: Designed for children ages 3-8, the program – based on the Saint-Saenss classic – will take listeners through a journey around the world, visiting all seven continents and the animals and musical styles of each region. Infusing a variety of multi-dimensional art forms and musical styles – as well as introducing a lineup of new animal characters – is intended to bring a modern twist to this classic in a new arrangement for chamber orchestra and piano. Free, but registration required and only a few seats remain, and Saturday is sold out.
UPDATE: ALL SOLD OUT, sorry.
College-Conservatory of Music, Faculty Artist Series | 2 p.m. Werner Recital Hall, University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. DETAILS: Guitarist Christopher Wilke shares music for therobo, lute, plus classical and electric guitars with help from fellow CCM faculty members Quinn Patrick Ankrum, mezzo-soprano; James Bunte, saxophone; and Michael Unger, harpsichord.
October Festival Choir, “Light Eternal: Honoring the Journey” | 4 p.m. Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church. DETAILS: In the before times, conductor Chris Miller annually put together a volunteer mass choir once a year to showcase works Miller felt deserved more attention. This return concert features Morten Lauidsen’s gorgeous “Lux Aeterna” and a cantata by Cincinnati composer Rick Sowash, “The Harvest of a Quiet Eye.” You might have heard Miller as singer/trumpeter for gypsy jazz quartet The Burning Caravan. This concert is an extension of Miller’s day job as music director of Mt. Auburn Presbyterian.
Monday, Oct. 10
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, “Runaway: Notes on the Myths That Made Me” | 7 p.m. Rookwood Commons, 2692 Madison Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45208. 513-396-8960. DETAILS: Journalist/editor/now author Erin Keane crafted this memoir in response to her own searching for understanding as pertains to her mother’s complicated teenage years and how those affected Keane’s life. She shares insights into her findings in conversation with local poet/Art Academy professor/punk rocker Matt Hart.
Tuesday, Oct. 11
Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative, “The Car Ride” | 7:30 p.m. Fifth Third Bank Theater, Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. 513-621-ARTS. DETAILS: Kicking off CPI’s season of new play readings is this tale about what happens when someone jumps in your backseat, unexpectedly, while on a trip, and the trip that ensues. Sounds interesting! This is Michael DefFancesco’s second reading of 2022. He must be on a creative roll…