October is one of the busiest months at the Center for Lifelong Learning. Our fall catalog with all the new courses listed has been mailed, and our thoughts are turning to music.
By the first week in October, the Center for Lifelong Learning had begun rehearsals for the Community Chorus. Also, the students involved in our music lesson programs are getting ready for their fall recital. This year, we have invited a guest solo hand bell artist who has performed all over the United States to perform a concert. Let me tell you about these happenings.
First of all, the Center for Lifelong Learning sponsors the Athens State Community Chorus. This year the Chorus has joined with the Decatur Civic Choral Group for a concert of Songs Elvis Loved: Gospel, Rock & Roll, and Christmas. Concerts will be held in Decatur on Thursday, November 13, at 7:00pm, at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church. Tickets for the Decatur show are $12.
The Athens concert will be held in the Ballroom of the Sandridge Student Union on Sunday, November 16, at 2:30pm. Tickets for the Athens show are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and children under 12 are admitted free. For more information about the Athens tickets, please call 256-233-8260.
Like all of the programs at the Center for Lifelong Learning, the Athens State Community Chorus is self supporting. All proceeds from the concert tickets are used to develop the Chorus music selections, pay staff, and market the program to the community.
The Center also offers private music lessons in violin and piano. At this time, we have 20 students, ranging in age from 5 years old to senior adults. Lessons are offered in 30-minute, 45-minute, and 60-minute blocks during the school year. We also offer 30-minute lessons for two months during the summer. On December 8th, at 6:30 pm, in the ballroom of Sandridge Student Union, the Center will host the student recital. This program is open to the public and is a free event.
Coming in December is a Solo Hand Bell Concert by Danny Lyons. Lyons rings an entire three octave set of hand bells, (37 bells in all,) by himself. You will be amazed by his dexterity, stage presence, and his ability to make beautiful music. Lyons has toured all across the United States, as well as Europe and The Bahamas, playing solo hand bell concerts and teaching hand bells.
Traveling with Lyons is the Bellissimo Handbell Quartet (in which Danny also rings as a member of the quartet). The quartet is made up of four talented bell ringers who will entrance you with their style, showmanship, and musicianship as they weave bells, bodies, and limbs into a unified musical instrument.
The Solo Hand Bell Concert by Danny Lyons will be Sunday, December 7, at 3:00pm at McCandless Hall on the Athens State Campus. There is no charge for this concert. This concert is sponsored by the Livingston Concert Lecture Series and the Athens State Center for Lifelong Learning.
When you think of music, think of the Center for Lifelong Learning; where learning is a lifestyle.
By: Wanda Campbell
Center for Lifelong Learning – 121 South Marion Street, Athens, AL 35611 – 256-233-8262
