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The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens Launches New and Improved Web Site
Jacksonville – The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens debuts a redesigned web site, www.cummer.org, with a stylish new look and layout. Visitors now have access to current information about the museum at their fingertips, including current and upcoming exhibition information, hours and directions, art education programs and class information. “The new web site is amazing,” said Museum Director Maarten van de Guchte. “It is crisp, clean, well organized, easy to manage, and fun to navigate.”

The Lyric Theatre Welcomes Amy M. Dixon as the New Director of Marketing
STUART, FL- The Lyric Theatre is pleased to announce that Amy M. Dixon has joined The Lyric Theatre as the new Director of Marketing, replacing Denise Belizar who will be pursuing her own marketing and communications business. Before arriving in Florida, Amy was the Marketing Director for the Island Center for the Performing Arts on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. Prior to that she spent four years as the Director of Programming and Promotions at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ where she assisted in the advertising and marketing of music, dance, Broadway touring companies and other events at the Center’s three performance venues. Amy also worked with George Wein’s Festival Productions, Inc. and The John Schreiber Group in New York where she was responsible for producing and promoting jazz and comedy festivals, concerts and other special events.

WOWW is Central Florida's Freshest Theater Initiative
ORLANDO - Women playwrights get a new boost from Women Playwrights' Initiative (WPI) during the 2006-07 season through an initiative called Wave of Women Writers (WOWW!). This new strategy emerged from WPI's reworked mission statement and its commitment to closer examination of the area's advancement of produced plays written by women. "The great news is that people are asking questions, which is surely the result of more awareness of the scarcity of women's plays," according to WPI President Lyndol Michael.

iffany Hill Appointed to the Florida Dance Association’s Board of Directors
Hollywood, Fla. – Art and Culture Center of Hollywood Artistic Director Tiffany Hill was recently appointed to the Florida Dance Association’s (FDA) Board of Directors. The FDA’s Board of Directors chose Hill to serve for a three-year term. As a board member, she will be responsible for determining the organization’s mission, goals, and policies. As artistic director for the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, Hill is responsible for developing, coordinating and growing the Center’s performing arts season; overseeing programming budgets and staff; assisting with fundraising efforts; representing and promoting the Center to the media and the community; fostering community relationships and support; and creating strategies for audience development. She also serves as the associate publisher for Hollywood 360, an annual publication promoting cultural tourism in Hollywood. Recently, Hill was selected to sit on the grant review panel to evaluate dance-related proposals for the Cultural Support Grants Program administered by the State of Florida, Division of Cultural Affairs.

The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Presents Young People's Concerts 2006
Orlando, FL - The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra's popular Young People's Concerts will be held September 13 through November 10, 2006. Designed to provide a broad performing arts experience to students, the Philharmonic's Young People's Concerts involve three artistic disciplines: orchestra, opera, and ballet, showcasing all three in one program. The Philharmonic's Young People's Concerts are, for many students, the first exposure to a concert of a classical nature. This year, the Orlando Philharmonic invites students to experience Music in Motion in the concerts led by Andrew Lane, Principal Pops and Resident Conductor.

All-Star Slate of Performers to Headline "The Concert for Miami" on October 5
Miami — More than 150 performers will take the stage on October 5 at “The Concert for Miami,” the inaugural event celebrating the opening of the Cesar Pelli-designed Carnival Center for the Performing Arts. The lineup includes Grammy Award winner and Miami’s own sound machine Gloria Estefan, world renowned opera singer José Carreras, Tony Award-winning actress Bernadette Peters, Latin singing sensation Alejandro Sanz, triple threat actor/director/composer Andy Garcia, Grammy Award-winning trumpet player Arturo Sandoval, Afro-Cuban jazz musician Cachao, Cuban singer Albita and Colombian singer/composer Carlos Vives, among others. “The Concert for Miami” will highlight the many world-renowned artists who have played a significant role in transforming the city into a global arts and entertainment destination. Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Emilio Estefan and hosted by musical legend Quincy Jones, the concert will be held at the 2,200-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall.

Palm Beach Poetry Festival Announces New Management Team
Delray Beach, FL - Miles Coon, director of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, today announced a new management team for the third annual event, which will be held at Old School Square in Delray Beach for six days, January 23-28, 2007. “Next year's Palm Beach Poetry Festival will be the biggest yet, featuring a dozen award-winning master poets, including Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Dunn, four-time National Poetry Slam champion Patricia Smith and former California and Vermont poet laureates, Quincy Troupe and Ellen Bryant Voigt” said Mr. Coon. “I am pleased to announce that the Festival's new management team is equally dynamic.” The new management team consists of: Kurt Brown - Director of Marketing, Publicity & Development; Laura McDermott - Festival Coordinator; and Blaise Allen, Ph.D. - Community Outreach Facilitator.

The Young Musicians’ Orchestra begins its Fourth Season Calling all Young Instrumentalists
CORAL GABLES, FL - The Coral Gables Congregational Church (CGCC) Community Arts Program Conservatory for the Arts begins the fourth season of its Young Musicians’ Orchestra (YMO) this month. A part of the Community Arts Program’s award-winning after-school music programming, the Young Musicians’ Orchestra seeks all middle and high-school string players and woodwind, brass, and percussion players through age 20, who are interested in joining a rewarding musical journey that encompasses the wide variety of repertoire and experience essential to the success of today’s musician. The new YMO season also welcomes music director and conductor, Mr. Chung Park. CGCC Community Arts Program Executive and Artistic Director, Mark Hart, reports that “the program is looking forward to a notable season of growth and eclectic offerings to the community and to the members of the YMO. I am thrilled to announce Chung Park as YMO music director, conductor, and deft compatriot in realizing some exciting goals.”

Scans reveal Mona Lisa secrets
Paris - Researchers studying 3-D images of the “Mona Lisa” say she was probably either pregnant or had just given birth when she sat for Leonardo da Vinci’s 16th century masterpiece. The clue was something she wore. Scans turned up evidence of a fine, gauzy veil around Mona Lisa’s shoulders — a garment women of the Italian Renaissance wore when they were expecting, a leading French museum researcher, Michel Menu, said this week. As the painting aged, the veil darkened. The thick, dark varnish on the work made it difficult even to know what color her dress is — it has been described as everything from black to brown to green. A piece of fabric draped over Mona Lisa’s shoulder sometimes was interpreted as a shawl or scarf.

MFA returns art to Italy, paves way for collaboration
Boston - Flanked by 13 objects that were part of the Museum of Fine Arts collection until last week, MFA director Malcolm Rogers yesterday signed an agreement in Rome with Italian officials to return the works and establish a new process to make sure the museum doesn't purchase stolen art in the future.