This morning, the Grand Rapids Symphony joined in the arts celebration surrounding ArtPrize, and I’m beginning to wonder what haven’t people in that city thought of to make this event special? I’m also beginning to sound like a publicist, instead of a journalist, on this 
topic, and that I regret — but it’s not often that a community seems so intensively involved with the arts. On Wednesday, Michael Kaiser even spoke about “the crisis in arts funding,” in connection with ArtPrize, at the Gerald R. Ford Museum.
But back to the music.
David Lockington, the symphony’s music director (right), has composed a piece called Ceremonial Fantasy Fanfare for ArtPrize “inspired by visual artists and honoring the ArtPrize Top 10,” according to the symphony’s website.
The top ten artists, who will go on to the next round, were announced last night; their work is displayed on the ArtPrize site: David Lubbers, Sarah Grant, Nessie Project, Jason Hackenwerth, Ran Ortner, Eric Daigh, Michael Westra, Tracy Van Duinen, and Bill Secunda. That’s based on 332,051 votes. Grand Rapids Press has more on the outcome.
The symphony performance took place this morning, and photos of ArtPrize contestants were set to be shown during the music. The symphony also coordinated the participation of nearly 30 local churches that agreed to ring their church bells in unison at a particular point in the piece.
OK, here’s one more thing it could do: put the Fanfare up on the web so we all can listen to it.
Photo Credit: Adrian Mendoza