Unveiling Of Gateway Sculpture On May 31
IMAGE: Artist rendering of Gateway sculpture.
The Murfreesboro City Hall Art Committee in conjunction with Murfreesboro’s Parks and Recreation Department are hosting a public reception to unveil MTSU art Professor Michael Baggarly’s sculptural work Friday, May 31, at noon. The event's location is the Murfreesboro Greenway System’s Gateway Island.
First endorsed by Mayor Tommy Bragg as a means to encourage more public art, the City Hall Art Committee organized a call for sculptural design proposals from the students of Murfreesboro City and Rutherford County Schools. A display and competition was held in the Rotunda of City Hall with the vision of Siegel High School student, Lauren O. Hughes chosen. Now at MTSU, Lauren’s vision served as inspiration and challenge to Baggarly who was selected to collaboratively translate the design into an artistic and technical reality.
To finalize the design, the art committee worked closely with city administration, the parks department, and Baggarly to incorporate elements of the student design while also addressing safety and aesthetic issues. “It’s been an arduous, but thorough process to get this accomplished,” said Eric Snyder, chair of the art committee. “The support and guidance provided by Mayor Bragg, the city manager’s office, and by the park’s department has been invaluable to the art committee.”
Reception plans include comments from Mayor Bragg, the unveiling and presentation of the sculpture to the Parks and Recreation Department, and a plaque listing the sculpture’s individual and business supporters along with the art committee’s members since the sculpture’s inception.
Having worked well throughout this process plans are now set for Parks and Recreation and the City Hall Art Committee to formulate a process by which other works of public art will be placed along more sections of the Murfreesboro Greenway System.
The reception is free and open to the public.
Directions to Gateway Island are Medical Center Parkway to Gateway Blvd, right on Kennedy Drive, and right on Williams Drive. Additional parking available at the Greenway's W. College Street Trailhead: 1902 W. College Street.
For more information: contact Greenway Program Coordinator, Melinda Tate at (615) 893-2141 or Snyder at (615) 542-6368.
Salute to America Concert At Brentwood United Methodist
Gareth Laffely, a 14-year-old musician and composer from Gallatin, Tenn., will play a Native American flute as a special guest in the second annual "Salute to America" Concert, featuring patriotic music presented by Brentwood United Methodist Church on Sunday, June 16, at 7PM in the church sanctuary.
A special invitation is extended to active military personnel, veterans and their families, who will be recognized at the end of the program. Admission to the concert is free and open to the public; however, a special offering will be taken for Operation Stand Down, a nonprofit Veteran Service Center serving Middle Tennessee.
Dr. Bill Caldwell will direct the Chancel and Chamber Choirs, with Dr. Gregg Bunn as organist and Patsy Wade as pianist. The concert will feature a rendition of the "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boys" performed by a trio representing the famed Andrew Sisters, as well as marches played by the Belmont University Brass Ensemble.
Laffely, a ninth-grade home-schooled student, who is the son of professional musicians, Neil Laffely and Susan Oliver, will be accompanied by his father on the guitar. They will play "The Journey," a song about the Trail of Tears, composed by Gareth Laffely, from the CD of the same title. He has been invited to submit this song and his performance for a Grammy nomination. The CD itself, with songs all of which he has composed, will be submitted for a best world album nomination.
Located in Nashville, Operation Stand Down is the only Veterans' Administration approved and supported Veteran Service Center in Tennessee. It helps honorably discharged veterans, especially the homeless, by giving them the tools they need to rejoin their community as productive, responsible citizens. The facility provides temporary housing as well as health and job assistance.
Brentwood United Methodist Church is located at 309 Franklin Rd., Brentwood. For information call (615) 373-3663 or visit www.bumc.net.
MiddleTennesseeArts.com is the first online magazine to provide in-depth coverage of the performing and visual arts in Middle Tennessee. Established in 2006, MTA is updated daily.