On Saturday April 25, 2009, the QuickDraw Benefit in Haywood County included a buffet at the Waynesville Inn Golf Resort accompanied by a silent auction (during which thirty arts and crafts items were sold) and concluded with a live auction of paintings that had been completed on the premises during the “One-Hour Artists” event that provided excitement before dinner. Nineteen artists began with easels, pigments, brushes and canvas or paper arrayed before them. One hour later they put down their brushes in front of a completed painting. They were then given fifteen minutes to dry, mat and frame the art.
The large crowd milled about the room to see how their favorite artists were progressing. I tracked some distinguished artists from Buncombe, Henderson and Transylvania Counties: Ann Vasilik, Sarah Sneeden, Kelly Welch and Pamela Haddock. Not only were they intent and fast; they were producing thoughtful and high quality work. Soon I was watching several artists from Waynesville - Jo Ridge Kelley and Luke Allsbrook – and Ken Umbach from Murphy. Young artist Juan Pablo Peña Mejia, also from Waynesville, had volunteered his effort out of gratitude for assistance in his art education that he had received from the QuickDraw program.
More than 50% of the sale price from the auctions supports the Haywood County schools’ art education. Well over $9,000 was netted from this year’s event. Judging from their accents, many of the bidders have retired to the area from other parts of the country, and it is to their credit that they think so highly of their adopted community that they support art education.
The next day, Sunday April 26, 2009, the Asheville Area Piano Forum held their Spring Benefit Concert. The Asheville North Seventh-Day Adventist Church donated the use of their sanctuary, which had pleasing acoustics and a nice ambiance. The program featured eight of Western North Carolina’s finest pianists. Most teach in area colleges or have local teaching studios. Others have retired from high profile careers elsewhere.
With performers Susan Kincaid, Karen Boyd, Polly Feitzinger, Virginia McKnight, Anna Hayward, Teresa Sumpter, John Cobb and Susan Fehr, it was not surprising that the performances exhibited an exacting quality. The pianists’ choices of virtuoso repertoire made one think that there was perhaps a little friendly rivalry. If so, we benefited from it.
There were familiar classics such as Beethoven’s “Variations on God Save the King” played by Susan Kincaid and Schumann’s “Variations on the name Abegg” played by Anna Hayward. And there were twentieth-century works such as Ernst von Dohnányi’s fiendishly difficult “Capriccio in F minor, Op. 28 #6” played by John Cobb and “Sonatine pour Yvette,” a 1962 work by Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge played by Teresa Sumpter, a new faculty member at Mars Hill College. I hope to hear more Montsalvatge, who is clearly an overlooked twentieth-century composer of major talent.
All performers contributed their effort. Proceeds from this year’s fall benefit will go half to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra’s piano fund and half to the AAPF Student Assistance awards. The AAPF raises its main support for the Student Assistance awards at its fall benefit concert, which will be at Diana Wortham Theater on September 27 featuring two pianos and twenty pianists.
The children of Western North Carolina are the future of the arts for our area and beyond. How pleasant to see youth education supported in both the performing and the visual arts in the course of one weekend here in the mountains.
© 2009 Edward C. McIrvine
Arts Spectrum column #431
May 1, 2009
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