thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

The Maryville College Fine Arts Division is throwing open its doors to the public this weekend, offering up a smorgasbord of arts-related activities in preparation for the February opening of the new Clayton Center for the Arts.

According to Stacey Wilner, coordinator of choral music at the college, the goal of the Fine Arts Showcase, which kicks off at 7 tonight (Nov. 6), is to feature students in the college's Fine Arts Division in their various disciplines and through their artwork.

"It will definitely be a variety," Wilner told The Daily Times. "(Tonight), we'll have two stages set up in the Alumni Gym. We'll start it off with a scene from a theater production ("String of Pearls"), and then we'll have everyone stand up and move their chairs for the student performers on the other stage.

"The variety of sound and artistry coming toward the audience should vary every few minutes, so they'll get a sampler of everything that we do. Maryville College prides itself on appreciating different varieties of music and art. We're not just a classically oriented school; we teach in a classical style, but we appreciate all different genres."

Following tonight's "variety show," a reception and art walk featuring student work will follow at 8:15 p.m. in the Bartlett Atrium. The showcase continues on Saturday, with registration starting at 8:30 a.m. to help visitors become more familiar with the college. The day's events, billed as "Meet Maryville," will include campus tours and several sessions about the academic and co-curricular programs at MC.

"We want to show all of the programs available for high school students, because we hope they'll consider Maryville College for their higher educational needs," Wilner said.

Saturday's events include a performance by Off Kilter, an auditioned ensemble of eight to 12 singers, at 1:30 p.m. in the Alumni Gym; a question-and-answer session at 2 p.m. in Bartlett Hall Atrium for students interested in majoring in the fine arts; and a tour of the $47 million Clayton Center, of which fine arts students and faculty members are awaiting completion with great anticipation, Wilner said.

"In the past, our programs have been somewhat limited because we had to adapt for older spaces in the old Wilson Chapel and the Fine Arts Center (both of which were torn down to make way for the Clayton Center)," Wilner said. "Now, with the Clayton Center, we're hoping to show that we have a number of offerings -- community groups and the educational components to our programs."

As it stands, she added, the fine arts faculty members are slated to receive keys to the new building on Dec. 28; January will be spent moving equipment and furniture, and the various programs will be up and running in the month of February.

"Personally, I'm so excited about the choir room," she said. "Maryville College has never had a choir room; we've always used a classroom or something that was used for other things than choral singing. Now, we'll have a state-of-the-art choir room, and I can't wait to get in there and have rehearsals and share it will of the choirs at Maryville College.

"Speaking for the college, I'm very excited about the opening of the Grand Hall. The concept of the community being able to come in and see some of our events there, and to be able to bring in performers of such a high caliber and performance level, will just increase the level of artistry for everyone."

Also on Saturday, the Invitational Choir Festival will be taking place on the MC campus, an event that begins at 6 p.m. in the Alumni Gym and will include representatives from a number of area high schools, including Alcoa, Heritage and William Blount. Roughly 200 students will be on campus for the event, and the festival is open to the public as well.

The weekend wraps up at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Alumni Gym with a performance by the Maryville College-Community Concert Band, directed by Dr. Larry Smithee. The fall concert is free and open to the public, and the program will include older American music by such composers as Sousa, Claude Smith, Leroy Anderson and Robert Russell Bennett.

With the showcase, Wilner added, the fine arts programs hope to renew their relationship with the Blount County community and generate a buzz for what's to come in 2010 when the Clayton Center opens.

"With the Wilson Chapel and the Fine Arts Center torn down, a lot of people in the community were under the misconception that we just went out of business for three years, but we've really been up and running," she said. "We've performed at area churches and other locations, and we feel like we've raised our presence in the community. We've made do, but it will be nice, when the Clayton Center opens, to be surrounded by an artistic space as well as an artistic community."