Calendar of Events

The American Museum of Science & Energy will open Nikon Small World, a traveling exhibit showcasing 20 award winning photomicrographs from the 40th annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. This year’s winner is Rogelio Moreno of Panama for capturing a rarely seen image of a rotifer’s open mouth interior and heart-shaped corona. A computer system programmer by occupation, Moreno is a self-taught microscopist whose photomicrograph serves to show just how close the beauty and wonder of the micro-world truly is - not just for scientists, but anyone willing to open their eyes and look for it. Moreno is recognized along with over 80 other winners from around the world for excellence in photomicrography. Winners from Italy, the United States, Austria, Spain and Australia also ranked in the top ten, for exceptional images selected based on both artistic quality and masterful scientific technique.

“Since the competition began 40 years ago, the caliber in quality and range of subject matter of the images, is matched only by the scientists and photographers who submit them,” said Eric Flem, Communications Manager, Nikon Instruments. “So much has changed in science and technology in the past forty years, opening the door for more and more scientists and artists alike to capture and share their stunning images with the world. A look at our gallery is like a time capsule of the advancements made in the last four decades and truly shows the legacy a Nikon Small World continues to build.”

Rogelio Moreno is a first-time first-place winner of the Small World competition, though he has placed each time he has entered the contest starting three years ago. That success is a testament to his incredible skill, as he only began taking photomicrographs in 2009.

Judges awarded Moreno’s shot of a rotifer caught open-mouthed and facing the camera – for its exemplary technique. Capturing the perfect moment when the rotifer opened its mouth for the camera required extreme patience from Moreno, who watched for hours waiting for his opportunity. With the rotifer in constant motion, he utilized the flash to freeze the movement as soon as the mouth opened – still leaving him with only a one- or two-second window to take the photo, and possibly only one shot to get it right. He also used differential interference contrast (DIC) to enhance the coloration in unstained, transparent samples, and to provide a more detailed image of the rotifer.

“When you see that movement, you fall in love. I thought - wow, that is amazing. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. This is something very, very beautiful,” said Moreno of his winning image. “I hope now it can inspire others as much as it has inspired me – to learn about science, to look closely and notice something truly amazing.”

As the 2014 winner, Moreno joins the ranks of 36 other photomicrographers, artists and scientists from all over the world who have taken the top prize. This year’s competition received over 1,200 entries from more than 79 countries around the world. Top images from the 2014 Nikon Small World Competition will be exhibited in a full-color calendar and through a national museum tour. For additional information, please visit www.nikonsmallworld.com, or follow the conversation on Facebook and Twitter @NikonSmallWorld.

American Museum of Science & Energy, 300 S. Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Monday-Saturday 9AM-5PM, Sunday 1-5PM. Information: 865-576-3200, www.amse.org

Showcasing a variety of 3-D and 2-D works. Opening reception for the exhibit will be Friday, June 12, 6:30 - 8:00 PM.

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tu-Th 9-5, F 10-5, Sa 9-1. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartctr.com

6 pm Book signing and reception for the NYT bestselling author team, Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass, discussing and signing their newest Body Farm novel, The Breaking Point

Free and open to the public.

Union Ave Books, 517 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-951-2180, www.unionavebooks.com

A new fundraising event benefiting the GSM Heritage Center! The event will feature four critically acclaimed and well known Nashville songwriters in an intimate setting limited to 120 guests at the Barn Event Center of the Smokies. Tickets are $50 per person including dinner and a cash bar with wine / beer will be available. Reservations may be made by calling the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center 865-448-0044 Monday thru Friday 9 am – 5 pm.

Songwriters Featured Artists:
Leslie Ellis is a Grammy Award winning vocalist who sang with Celine Dion on “My Heart Will Go On” (from the movie “Titanic”) which won a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and FOUR Grammy Awards. She is also active in live theater including the Broadway productions of Cats, La Cage Aux Folles, City of Angels, and co-starred with Michael Crawford as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. In 2007, the US Navy used Leslie’s “Flyer Song” in a video honoring our troops and their families. Visit Leslie’s website at http://www.leslieellis.com.

Jeff Gilkinson is a member of the legendary band, The Dillards, who were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2009. The Dillards portrayed the fictional band known as “The Darlings” on the original Andy Griffith Show. Jeff has recorded and performed with Delbert McClinton, the late John Hartford, Willie Nelson, Mason Williams, Michael Martin Murphy, Jennifer Warnes, Michael Johnson, and Tom T. Hall. He has appeared twice on the PBS show, Austin City Limits. Initially trained as a classical cellist, Jeff is also proficient on the banjo, harmonica, guitar, and bass. Jeff’s biography and discography are found at www.jeffgilkinson.com/.

Casey Kelly is best known for his Grammy nominated songs “Anyone Who Isn’t Me Tonight,” and “Soon.” Fans of George Strait will also recognize the signature song “The Cowboy Rides Away.” His songs have also been recorded by Joe Diffie, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and America. He toured with Loggins and Messina to support his own hit single “Poor Boy.” You can learn more about Casey at http://www.caseykelly.net/.

CJ Watson was the singer and lead guitarist for the first rock’ n’ roll band to tour China. He won the 2008 Kerville “New Folk” Songwriters Award. He has co-written and produced the critically acclaimed jazz album “Lovedrunk” which debuted at #7 on the iTunes charts. In 2014, his songs “Love Has Wheels” (recorded by the Banksesters) was listed as one of the Top 30 Bluegrass songs of that year. In addition, his music has been featured in several movies, and on the Emmy winning series “Venice,” in the video game Rockband, and on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” He is a frequent lecturer on the art of songwriting, and is active in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s ‘Words and Music’ program, teaching songwriting to elementary and middle school children. Last year, he was chosen to represent the program at the Frank Brown International Songwriter’s Festival. CJ’s many other accomplishments are noted at http://www.promusicu.com/bios/cjwatson.html.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 3/4 mile east of traffic light at the Highway 321 and 73 intersection towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Townsend, TN. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM. Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame will be naming the South Rotunda on June 12, 2015 after one of the most decorated coaches in women's basketball history and a Women's Basketball Hall of Fame founding member and inductee, Pat Summitt. The naming ceremony will be held from 3:30pm to 4:30pm and will be open to the public.

The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors voted for the naming of the Pat Summitt Rotunda to honor not just her basketball career, but for her contributions to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Pat Summitt was an instrumental driving force in the implementation and construction of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee. Pat Summitt was part of the first WBHOF Induction class in 1999 and held nearly every coaching record possible throughout her career. Summitt is an eight-time National Champion and compiled 1,098 wins as head coach at the University of Tennessee. Summitt also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs in 2012.

700 Hall of Fame Drive - Knoxville, TN 37915 - (865) 633-9000 - www.wbhof.com

I'm eagerly anticipating our next screening – our Eleventh Anniversary Spectacular on Friday, June 12. On this most special night, at 8:00 PM, we'll be screening a gorgeous Technicolor print of the sizzling Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) – starring Hollywood’s Love Goddess, Rita Hayworth, in one of her most provocative roles.

In this steamy WWII tale Rita gives what’s arguably her best performance, as Sadie Thompson – the dame with a little something extra for the boys. Sadie’s an easygoing nightclub entertainer saddled with a dubious reputation. She finds herself stranded on a tiny South Pacific atoll – filled with women-hungry Marines looking to make whoopee with her. But nearby the guys’ outpost is one Mr. Davidson, a fanatical reformer hell-bent on keeping sin and evil out of the islands. Sadie’s uninhibited behavior stirs Davidson to twisted extremes and she suffers unrelenting harassment from him. Thank goodness she’s met the caring and ultra-hunky Sergeant Phil O’Hara, whose affections toward her manage to bring some semblance into her misbegotten life – that is, until great misfortune descends. If this sorrowful yet sordid saga seems somewhat familiar to you, it’s because Miss Sadie Thompson was the third screen reworking the W. Somerset Maugham story, Miss Thompson, whose initial transference had been made to the stage, as Rain.

The Rita Hayworth version adds dazzling Technicolor photography, and is set to a zesty musical score that presents the redheaded superstar at her hottest. Sexy, yes, but Rita’s performance as Sadie is one of surprisingly great depth – brought to the fore by her counterpointing scenes opposite Aldo Ray’s Sergeant O’Hara and José Ferrer’s Mr. Davidson. Add to this mix the portrayals of Russell Collins, Harry Bellaver and Charles Bronson and you've got one high-voltage drama you'll absolutely never forget!

Since Miss Sadie Thompson will be marking the CCC's big yearly celebration, we're encouraging everyone to bring to its showing a favorite food dish or beverage. Also, if some of you are so motivated, it would very much be appreciated if you could help stock our supply cabinet with paper plates, napkins, plastic cups and utensils. (And, folks, kindly remember to pitch in when cleanup time comes around.)

Friday, June 12, at 8:00PM.
Our location: The spacious clubhouse of the Windover Apartments. The journey there will take you to Cheshire Drive (off Kingston Pike, near the Olive Garden); going down Cheshire, turn right at the Windover Apartments sign, then go to the third parking lot on your right, next to the pool. There, the building that houses the clubhouse and offices of the Windover will be just a few steps away!

The 2015 Bonnaroo Lineup includes Billy Joel, Mumford & Sons, Deadmau5 and Kendrick Lamar, the list features some artists who blew critics away in 2014 (Run The Jewels, Hozier and Caribou, to name a few) and newcomers who are just starting to get their festival sea legs (see: Tove Lo, Odesza and Ryn Weaver). Bonnaroo alums like Florence and the Machine, Alabama Shakes and Flying Lotus are also on the bill, plus so many more!

AC Entertainment: 865-523-2665, www.concertwire.com. For tickets: 865-684-1200, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

The 2015 nief-norf Summer Festival (nnSF) moves to Knoxville to offer a concert and lecture series open to the greater Knoxville area. The nief-norf Summer Festival (nnSF) is an interdisciplinary summer music festival, which brings together dozens of performers, composers, and scholars to collaborate on the performance, creation, and discussion of contemporary solo and chamber music. The nnSF is held in the beautiful facilities of the University of Tennessee’s Haslam Music Center (Knoxville, TN) and presents inspired and devoted performances of modern music, aiming to encourage both appreciation and support for live music and contemporary art.

Since its inception in the summer of 2011, the festival’s performance, composition, and research seminars have attracted undergraduates, graduates, and professionals from institutions across the United States and abroad. Each summer, these fellows present some of the most challenging and boundary-pushing contemporary music, including world premieres of works by composers-in-residence at the nief-norf Summer Festival. As former performance fellow Joshua Spaulding recalls, “I can’t think of another festival in the country that has such an amazing atmosphere, incredible faculty, and the opportunity to play 4-5 concerts of splendid music in the span of 10 days!” Artistic Director Andrew Bliss explains that “this festival is designed as a think-tank environment for performers, composers, scholars, and lovers of contemporary music. We are very fortunate to have our festival hosted in Knoxville –– a city with an unquenchable thirst for new music and an incredible curiosity for the unfamiliar and the experimental.” In addition to concerts and lectures at the University of Tennessee, the festival is excited to offer events throughout the Knoxville community--at locations including the Square Room, Remedy Coffee, and the Birdhouse.

The festival features wind, string, percussion, and piano fellows, as well as nine composition fellows and regular visiting scholars who will collectively offer 7 concerts and 8 lectures throughout the 13-day festival. One highlight of the festival will include a portrait concert of Philip Glass’s music at Knoxville’s Square Room on Wednesday, June 10, at 8PM. The festival’s final marathon concert will conclude with a performance of Gérard Grisey’s Le Noir de l’Étoile, a 1-hour masterwork for percussion sextet inspired by the late-1960s discovery of pulsars and the periodic
radio signals they emit. nief-norf thanks the UT School of Music for hosting this festival’s daily events and preparations. Unless otherwise noted, all events occur in UT’s Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall and have a $10 suggested donation. All events are open to the general public. For more information, please visit www.niefnorf.org or contact Andrew Bliss, nnSF Artistic Director, at contact@niefnorf.org. Regular news surrounding the nief-norf Summer Festival, as well as the organization’s yearly activities, can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/niefnorf and on Twitter @niefnorf.

nnSF CONCERT SERIES
(All concerts in UT Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall with $10 suggested donation unless otherwise noted)
Concert One: nief-norf Project (festival faculty), Sunday, June 7 @ 8:00 PM
Featuring music by Adler, Eckardt, Løffler, Wubbels, Munakata
Concert Two: Philip Glass Portrait Concert, Wednesday, June 10 @ 8:00 PM – The Square Room
Tickets $10 available in advance at ww.thesquareroom.com - $12 at the door
Concert Three: Solo Works, Thursday, June 11 @ 8:00 PM – Remedy Coffee House
Featuring solo performances by nnSF15 Performance Fellows and Faculty
Concert Four: Collaboration, Saturday, June 13 @ 8:00 PM
Featuring music by Birtwistle, Vierk, Lunsqui, and two nnSF International Call for Scores winners
Concert Five: Music of Steve Reich and David Lang, Tuesday, June 16 @ 8:00 PM – The Square Room
Tickets $10 available in advance at ww.thesquareroom.com - $12 at the door
Featuring David Lang’s child and Steve Reich’s Four Organs, Concert Six: World Premieres, Wednesday, June 17 @ 8:00 PM
Featuring seven world premieres and music by Donatoni, Greenstein, and Mackey
Concert Seven: Final Marathon Concert, Friday, June 19 @ 5:00 PM
Featuring music by Aperghis, Rowan, nnSF Composer-in-Residence Nicholas Deyoe, two world premieres, one nnSF International Call for Scores winner, and Gérard Grisey’s Le Noir de l’Étoile

nnSF LECTURE SERIES
(All talks in UT Sandra G. Powell Hall and are free and open to the public)
Lecture One: Jason Eckardt, nnSF Composer-in-Residence, Monday, June 8 @ 1:30 PM
Lecture Two + Three + Four: Music as Theater, Wednesday, June 10 @ 10:30 AM
“Concept and Drama: The Influence of Fluxus upon Ligeti’s Theatrical Works”
“Laughter is Preferable to Tears”: John Cage and the Golden Age of Television”
“Music as Transduction: John Cage’s Variations VII (1966)”
Lecture Five: David Chapman, nnSF15 Guest Scholar, Wednesday, June 10 @ 1:30 PM
“Theatricality, Presence, and the early minimalist music of Philip Glass”
Lecture Six: Music as Theatre Lecture Recital with strike/speak percussion duo, Sunday, June 14 @ 1:30 PM – The Birdhouse (800 N. 4th Ave. - $5 suggested donation)
Featuring music by Adler, Aperghis, Hall, Schwitters
Lecture Seven: Nicholas Deyoe, nnSF Composer-in-Residence, Monday, June 15 @ 1:30 PM
Lecture Eight: Robert Honstein, nnSF International Call for Scores Winner, Thursday, June 18 @ 4:00 PM

June 06, 2015 XTERRA Trail Run
June 06, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 06, 2015 IJAMS BIRDING SERIES: On Top of Ol’ Smoky
June 06, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 06, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 07, 2015 XTERRA Knoxville Triathlon
June 10, 2015 IJAMS BROWN BAG SERIES: All About Bees
June 13, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
10 am, 2 pm, 3 pm ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
(All Ages) Have you met all the animals that call the Ijams Visitor Center home? If not, be sure to stop by every Saturday for a chance to get nose-to-beak with some of our resident furred and feathered ambassadors. This program is FREE, but donations to support animal care are welcome. Pre-registration is not required for this event.

June 13, 2015 IJAMS BIRDING SERIES: Birding Picnic with Ijams - 10 AM - 12 PM:
Join Ijams naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales for this road trip to Sequoyah Hills to observe Osprey nesting. Last year, we were fortunate to watch parents begin the intricate training of their young fledglings. Brunch will be a hearty continental breakfast provided by our newest gourmand Kodie Underwood. The fee for this program is $12 for Ijams members and $15 for non-members. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register.

June 13, 2015 TN NATURALIST PROGRAM: Mammals
10 am - 2 pm TN NATURALIST PROGRAM: Feathered Friends
(Ages 16 and up) This program is part of the Tennessee Naturalist Program, an ongoing series that introduces participants to the wonder of the state's amazing natural resources. This session will focus on the furry friends of the mammalian world. This program is open to registered participants only. For more information about the Tennessee Naturalist Program, visit our website at http://ijams.org/tennessee-naturalist-program.

June 13, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 13, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 18, 2015 IJAMS OUTDOORS: Summer Slam at Mead’s Quarry
June 20, 2015 PUBLIC PROGRAM: Wagging Walk
June 20, 2015 SPECIAL EVENT: 2015 Rain Barrel and Compost Bin Sale
June 20, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 20, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 20, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 21, 2015 IJAMS CREATIVE SERIES: Family Drum Circle
June 21, 2015 SPECIAL EVENT: Jazz at Ijams
June 24, 2015 IJAMS BROWN BAG SERIES: Eating Your Yard
June 27, 2015 SPECIAL EVENT: Meadow Lark Music Festival

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Call for Visitor Center hours. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

A new exhibition featuring botanical photographs by retired University of Tennessee, Knoxville, botany professor Alan S. Heilman, opens at UT's McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture. "Through the Lens: Botanical Photography of Alan S. Heilman" explores the art and science of 60-plus years of Heilman’s award-winning botanical photography of leaves, buds, flowers, fruits, seeds, mosses, lichens, cones, and bark of plants native to or grown in the East Tennessee region. The 55 photographs on view include images of plants from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the UT Gardens on the Agriculture Campus, and highlight Heilman's fascination with color, texture and plant structure.

"Images in the exhibit are products of a lifelong scientist who became an artist painting through a lens," said exhibition curator Gary Crites, McClung Museum curator of paleoethnobotany. "The exhibit offers an exciting blend of plant structure, which has been at the core of Heilman's decades as a student, educator and advocate for habitat appreciation and protection, and the artist's eye for color, form and function in nature." Highlights of "Through the Lens" include the diversity of plant species, types and parts photographed. There are veterans of various photograph competitions, including regional and national award winners. A sunflower image in the exhibit was awarded first place in the Natural World Photographic Competition held at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1996.

Heilman began his career as a science photographer in the 1940s, when he used his Kodak Recomar 33 and a darkroom in his family's basement to experiment with making microscopic enlargements of dissected plants. He continued to take thousands of photographs of plants in the field and under the microscope over the next decades, amassing an archive of images, many of which are available today as digitized color-film photographs housed at the UT Libraries. They can be viewed at http://kiva.lib.utk.edu/heilman.

The exhibition includes prints produced from digital files held by UT Libraries, as well as prints gifted by Heilman to the UT Gardens.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

Fridays, June 5 & 12 and July 3-31, Fridays at 4:00 PM

This is an introduction to flamenco class for children (ages 8-14) with no flamenco dance experience. Adults may take this introductory class as well, and for every paying adult, up to 3 children may attend for free. Class size 8-15 students. Pre-registration is required.

Contact: 865-202-0740 | 8701 Unicorn Drive Knoxville, TN 37922 | www.flamencowestknox.com

Bliss Home is pleased to present the latest works by Knoxville artist, Brian Murray, for June's First Friday. Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, June 5th from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary snacks from Old City Java's Bakery, Wild Love, will be provided and Brian's art will be featured for the month of June. Second reception on July 3, 6-9 PM.

Brian Murray is a local photographer who has been taking pictures for the past twenty years. His concentration is on local landmarks and historical buildings. He has had prints in several exhibits including the Arts in the Airport, Dogwood Arts Festival, National Art Exhibit at the Emporium, Knox Heritage Architecture Tour, and Art Alliance Exhibit at the Mayors' offices. He is a resident artist at Bliss Home and sells his prints there and at the Market Square Farmers' Market.

Brian's June exhibit will reflect his fascination with all of the different architectural styles that Knoxville has to offer. Brian's focal point for this show will highlight historic churches, which capture the diversity in architectural features.

Bliss Home 29 Market Square Knoxville, TN 37902. shopinbliss.com