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Progress Energy Provides Support to the Arts in Florida
ST. PETERSBURG - Progress Energy announced donations totaling $600,000 toward several arts programs in Florida. "Progress Energy is committed to supporting arts organizations and programs that have positive cultural and economic impacts for communities across Florida," said Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of Progress Energy Florida. Progress Energy grants will support educational programs at the Museum of Fine Art and exhibits at the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. The company also is supporting concerts for the Florida Orchestra and productions at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.

McCartney tries hand at classical music
NEW YORK - Paul McCartney has made his share of classic music: Now the ex-Beatle is releasing a classical album. "Ecce Cor Meum," which means "Behold My Heart," is a choral and orchestral work in both English and Latin, to be released on Sept. 26th. Britain's Magdalen College Oxford commissioned McCartney to create the music more than eight years ago in celebration of a new concert hall.

Stolen Russian museum items not insured
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - More than 220 pieces — including jewelry and enameled objects worth about $5 million — stolen from Russia's famed State Hermitage Museum were not insured, officials said. The theft is believed to have been an inside job that probably took place over several years, the museum's director, Mikhail Piotrovsky, told reporters a day after reporting the thefts.

Art Center Seeks Donations for Annual Fund Raiser, Art of The Deal
MOUNT DORA - The Mount Dora Center for the Arts seeks very special and unique items for its annual Art of the Deal silent and live auction to be held from 6 – 10 p.m. on Saturday, November 4 at the Donnelly Building in downtown Mount Dora. Donations are tax deductible and proceeds from this event will go to support the Center’s arts education programs, including workshops, summer camps and after-school programs.

Philanthropist Isabelle Ellen Sutton dies
St. Petersburg - Isabelle Ellen Sutton, a patron of the arts who along with Allen Leepa donated millions to establish the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art in Tarpon Springs, died Wednesday (July 19, 2006). She was 78. "Isabelle Sutton Leepa made a very significant contribution to the West Coast of Florida and changed the face of philanthropy for St. Petersburg College," said Janice Buchanan, executive director of the St. Petersburg College Foundation.

Visual artist Ed King shares his concept of the creative process with middle school students
MIAMI - Using the characters from Kaleidoscope Conspiracy (KC), his groundbreaking series of fanciful sketches and paintings, King encouraged the students to reach beyond conventional ideas to create their art. King was among 16 visual, spoken word, and performing artists working with 200 children during a daylong series of workshops, sponsored by Summerbridge, an academic enrichment program for talented, motivated students.

Miami Performing Arts Center Foundation Accepts Landmark Multimillion-Dollar Naming Gifts From Carnival Corporation and Knight Foundation
MIAMI — Miami Performing Arts Center Foundation announced landmark multi-million-dollar gifts from Carnival Corporation and The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, two Miami-based organizations whose involvement with the Center dates back to the planning stages. The Center has been renamed Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in honor of a $20 million aggregate gift from Carnival Corporation, the largest gift to the Center to date. Concurrently, the Center’s Concert Hall, previously known as the Carnival Concert Hall, has been renamed the Knight Concert Hall in appreciation of $10 million in grants from Knight Foundation.

12 year old Boca Raton protégé Mark Mayea receives Steinway grand piano
Boca Raton - For years Bob Lappin and the Palm Beach Pops have mentored gifted South Florida youth, between the ages of 6-18, under the auspices of their Florida Stars community outreach program. In 2006 12 year old Mark Mayea of Boca Raton was accepted into the program with great enthusiasm. Maestro Lappin remarked “it is very rare to see a talent like’s Mark’s.”

Boca Raton Museum of Art Announces Winners of 55TH Annual All Florida Juried Competition & Exhibition
Boca Raton– More than 850 Museum members, artists and guests from across Florida celebrated the opening of the 55th Annual All Florida Juried Competition and Exhibition, which is on exhibition at the Boca Raton Museum of Art through August 27, 2006. The juror for the 55th Annual All Florida Juried Competition was Anne Ellegood, Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Ms. Ellegood juried the 1,067 submitted entries, selecting 64 works by 41 artists for the exhibition. The “Best in Show” award went to Jeanne Lauziere of Jensen Beach for her piece entitled, Lucy, in the medium of wax, gesso, pencil, and craypas on paper. Three Merit Awards were awarded to: Felice Grodin (Miami Beach), Nolan Haan (Fort Lauderdale), and Daniel Mintz (Weston).

Pollstar Magazine Ranks Bicentennial Park #9 Worldwide
Miami - Pollstar Magazine, a leading entertainment industry trade magazine, has ranked Bicentennial Park #9, worldwide, for event-related, mid-year ticket sales (Jan-June, 2006). The category (outdoor stadiums/festival sites) reflects the top 25 venues worldwide but Bicentennial Park ranked #2 in the United States, beat out only by Giants Stadium in New Jersey. This ranking does not include the complimentary attendance at events nor does it contemplate the free events held at the venue.

Orlando Opera Announces New CEO/President
ORLANDO - Mitchell Levin, chairman of the board of directors of Orlando Opera, announced the appointment of James Ireland, Jr. as President/CEO of the distinguished regional company. Mr. Ireland was most recently Managing Director of Hartford Stage in Connecticut, and for over twenty years, Managing/Producing Director of Houston Grand Opera. He has been particularly noted for his business skills, media production, and international touring. His expertise in fiscal and development areas will be a strong asset to the arts organization and the community. Mr. Ireland is a widely respected manager of not-for-profit arts institutions and a nationally active speaker/panelist/consultant. He began working with Orlando Opera in late July.

Art and Culture Center of Hollywood Designated a Major Cultural Institution in Broward County
Hollywood– The Broward County Board of County Commissioners, as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council, designated the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood as a Major Cultural Institution (MCI) at its June 13 commission meeting. The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood is one of five MCIs in Broward County. Other Broward MCIs are the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Museum of Art, Museum of Discovery and Science, and the Opera Guild of Fort Lauderdale.

Sands Theater Center Announces Buffy Williams as Athens Theatre Capital Campaign Director
DeLand - Sands Theater Center, Inc., is undertaking a fund-raising campaign to complete construction of the Athens Theatre and open the theater in 2008. Beginning August 1 DeLand resident Buffy Williams will become director of the capital campaign. Williams, a community leader and business woman, was the owner/manager of LaPetit Botanica in downtown DeLand from 1992-1999 and is a past president of MainStreet DeLand, among many other professional and volunteer accomplishments.

Renowned photographer’s work to raise money for estate restoration
Ft. Myers - Clyde Butcher set up his Deardorff camera for his first shot at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. “I got a shot just a few minutes ago when the light was all nice and diffused,” Butcher said. Butcher and his wife, Niki, also a photographer, were at the estates in a collaborative fundraising project that Barbara Hill, executive director of the Edison & Ford Winter Estates hopes will give a big boost to the foundation’s efforts to restore the nationally recognized historic site. “We’re honored to be able to have Clyde Butcher agree to do this commission for the foundation’s gala,” Hill, said. The couple will provide two photographs for a Nov. 17 auction at the foundation’s sixth annual gala at the estates. Clyde Butcher’s will focus on the estates’ landscape, and Niki Butcher’s will highlight its architecture. Commissioning Clyde Butcher and his wife — Hill said they were paid $5,000 for the project — is a coup for the estates.