Skating in the Square continues in downtown Spartanburg
There is still time to enjoy skating in Morgan Square in downtown Spartanburg.
An outdoor skating rink is open through Jan. 15. In addition to the skating, vendors are offering hot chocolate and a few other food and beverage choices.
Skating on the Square’s regular hours (weather permitting) are 2 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 2 to 10 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. Sundays.
The cost is $10 per person daily, including skate rental. For more information,www.cityofspartanburg.org/skating-on-the-square.
Greenville Symphony Orchestra to hold Spotlight Series concert
Principal musicians from the Greenville Symphony Orchestra (GSO) will present the second Spotlight Series concert of the season at 2 and 7 p.m Saturday in the Fellowship Hall of First Baptist Greenville, 847 Cleveland St., Greenville.
“On and Off the Beaten Path” concert opens with Passacaglia for Violin and Viola by Johan Halvorsen, a reinvention of the last movement of Georg Frideric Handel’s Harpsichord Suite in G minor. The passacaglia, a Spanish dance, consists of a theme followed by improvisations or variations.
Next on the program will be Ferenc Farkas’ Five Antique Hungarian Dances, performed by a wind quintet. Farkas, deeply attached to his Hungarian roots, studied traditional Hungarian music after a period studying with Respighi in Italy. He wrote these spirited dances as an homage to his heritage and the music that shaped his compositional life.
Gene Koshinski’s “Swerve” for Solo Snare Drum is by far the most recent piece on the program, composed in 2016. Its experimentation on the snare drum leads to the piece “swerving” to increasingly difficult diversions from the returning theme.
To finish the program, the GSO’s string quintet will play Antonin Dvorak’s String Quintet in G major, Op. 77. The instrumentation departs from typical string quartet texture to add a double bass. The main benefit afforded by this addition is the deep pizzicato below the melodies in the higher strings.
Tickets are $15. For ticket information, including ticket purchasing, contact the Greenville Symphony at 864-232-0344 extension 118. For more information about the concert, visit the Greenville Symphony website at www.greenvillesymphony.org.
Spartanburg Art Museum features new exhibit
An exhibition at Spartanburg Art Museum (SAM) offers an up-to-date look at humanity's relationship with nature. The exhibition runs through March 4 in the museum at the Chapman Cultural Center, 200 E. St. John St. Spartanburg.
The artworks in the museum's latest exhibition, "Unnatural History," upend one's expectations at every turn. Rather than on canvas or panel, a series of landscapes is painted on the inside of plastic bottle caps. A label next to a colorful sculpture lists one of its materials as "used motor oil." A wall hanging resembling a quilt turns out to be made of dozens of painstakingly joined pieces of salvaged wood.
All of the works on view in "Unnatural History" offer visitors an opportunity to experience an everyday material or object transformed into something fantastically strange. Collectively, they provoke visitors to contemplate the profound ways human beings have transformed, destroyed, or augmented our natural environment.
Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit spartanburgartmuseum.org.
Musician Dirk Schlingmann to play during Sundays Unplugged
Dirk Schlingmann will perform a free concert from 2-4 p.m. Sunday at the Chapman Cultural Center, 200 E. St. John St., Spartanburg. The free concert is part of the weekly Sundays Unplugged program.
Schlingmann plays a variety of musical styles, including classical, pop, jazz, rock, bluegrass, and avant garde. He has performed most of his life, mainly on guitar and fiddle. He has been musically active in Germany, West Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina. He composes and performs his original compositions, in addition to playing many cover tunes from artists such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Antônio Carlos Jobim. Schlingmann has performed in concerts and recorded with numerous bands.
Every Sunday from 1-5 p.m. the cultural center is open giving patrons a no-stress opportunity to enjoy local culture and arts. Open and free are Spartanburg Art Museum, Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg Gallery, and Spartanburg Regional History Museum.
Camp Wadsworth exhibit on display at history museum
The Spartanburg Regional History Museum has an exhibit on display honoring Camp Wadsworth and the 100th anniversary of World War I. “Remembering Camp Wadsworth: A Commemoration of the World War I Centennial” runs through Feb. 11 in the museum at the Chapman Cultural Center, 200 E. St. John St. Spartanburg.
The Spartanburg Historical Association is holding the exhibit to show the impact the war had on the people and landscape of Spartanburg County. Camp Wadsworth was a training facility located on the west side of Spartanburg. It was in operation from July 1917 until March 1919.
Visitors will get to experience recreations of Camp Wadsworth facilities and learn about the war. There is no admission to see the exhibit.
Museum hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.