By Lee Davis Christopher Tanner didn’t grow up wanting to be a soldier. The call to serve found him. The Mountain Brook native was attending the prestigious Lawrenceville School in Princeton, New Jersey, where he excelled in track and field. Tanner wanted to find a college where he could compete in track at the NCAA Division I level and pursue a degree in engineering. The … [Read more...]
Every Mile Counts: Camp SAM Goes to NYC Marathon
By Kaitlin Candelaria Five Birmingham runners are taking Camp Smile-a-Mile’s mission to New York City. Savannah Lanier, development director for Camp SAM, said this won’t be the first time the organization has been represented in the TCS New York City Marathon, but this year’s team is different. “We’ve had a marathon team in the past, but it wasn’t really a group that was … [Read more...]
Conducting with Culture: Izcaray Begins His First Season as ASO Music Director
By Emily Williams Carlos Izcaray didn’t set out to become a conductor. When he was 16 or so, he dreamed of being a hotelier in the Caribbean. Then he heard a recording of Yo-Yo Ma performing the “Elgar Concerto.” “There was something there that clicked,” he said. That’s when he knew he wanted not just to play music, but to create musical experiences by conducting full … [Read more...]
Making it in the Magic City: Hudson is Named Artistic Director of the Birmingham Children’s Theatre
By Kaitlin Candelaria Roy Hudson is no stranger to the theater scene in Alabama. He was named teacher of the year in Alabama in 2008 – the first time a fine arts teacher had ever claimed the title. He founded the now well-known Shades Valley Theatre Academy at Shades Valley High School, where he taught for more than 15 years. And now he’s added a new entry to his resume; in … [Read more...]
Piqué-ng Interest: The Czernobil Sisters Sauté Into a New Saison
By Emily Williams Everything was beautiful at the ballet, in the words of lyricist Edward Kleban, and those words are still true in Birmingham as the Alabama Ballet looks forward to its 2015-2016 season. After all, the demands of ballet are rigorous and constant, and that doesn’t change during the summer performance break, which sisters Alana and Ariana Czernobil know all too … [Read more...]