We have two featured events this month, click on a link to view each:

• Columbus Artists’ Guild Annual Members’ Exhibition
• A prelude to the CSU Premier Series

Columbus Artists’ Guild Annual Members’ Exhibition

Nancy Lucas' soft watercolor swans seem to float out of a mist.

Problem: How do you motivate artists to paint something new? The solution to this problem became what is now known as the Annual Members' Exhibition. The only requirements for an entry into this show are that the artist be a member of the Guild and that the artwork be a piece that has not been exhibited before. This tradition has been carried on for more than 30 years.

This year's event will be held August 1 - 12 in the foyer of the Fine Arts Hall of Columbus State University. In the past, this exhibition has yielded nearly 80 entries from as many artists. The show is not juried, so beginners who have not shown their work before can do so without fear of rejection. The works are viewed on their merits and artists are able to learn from what others have created and, if desired, get a critique of their own work. All media are accepted, though most tend to be paintings. Most of the works are for sale.

Adam Profitt's exquisite alabaster bust proves that not all art has to hang on a wall!

This exhibit will include the usual paint media such as oil, watercolor, acrylic, gouache, mixed combinations, as well as pencil, pen and ink and collages. Be sure to view the sculptures, hand-thrown clay pots and decorative items and beautifully turned wood artworks displayed on the pedestals. Look for the ribbons to see who won the awards!

For more information about this event or the Columbus Artists' Guild, please visit www.columbusartistsguild.org.

State Senator Seth Harp drops by for a visit. "How many artists does it take to hang one painting?" Patrick Calhoun, Geri Davis and Larry Reed (hiding) attempt to find out. At left is Jean Parks' watercolor Anthurium.	Artists Ron Murray and Bucky Bowles confer while preparing to hang last year's exhibit.

A prelude to the CSU Premier Series

Hosted by Columbus State University's Schwob School of Music, Hiroko Nakamura will perform the works of Bach, Schumann, Rachmaninoff and Chopin, July 24, 4 p.m., at the RiverCenter's Legacy Hall. Tickets are $30 and $25 and can be purchased at 706-256-3632 or at the RiverCenter Box Office during the hours of 12 noon-5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Well known in Japan as a child prodigy, Hiroko Nakamura began studying the piano at the age of three with Aiko Iguchi followed by Professor Leonid at the age of ten. Harold Schonberg, the American doyen of twentieth-century music critics, described her as follows in his celebrated work The Great Pianists (Random House, 1987): "She has brilliant technique, temperament to spare, and an affinity for romantic music. . . . the secret of Hiroko Nakamura's appeal lies indeed in the way in which this intense affinity is able to stir the listener's soul."

In addition to her busy concert schedule, she has made many recordings. Under exclusive contract with Sony Records since 1965, Nakamura has produced more than 40 recordings, all of which have achieved record sales. Based on her career experiences, she wrote two award-winning books- The Tchaikovsky Competition (Chuo Koron Shinsha, 1990) and There is a Wild Tribe Called Pianists (Bungei-Shunjusha). She has thus become established as a super-woman with outstanding musical and literary talents.

In recent years, she has served as head of the adjudicatory board for the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition and as Music Director of the Hamamatsu International Piano Academy. Last year she was appointed music director of the "100 Pianists" series at the Saitama Arts Theater. She continues to adjudicate at international competitions around the world, serves as a volunteer through the Association to Aid Refugees and the Japanese Red Cross even while receiving international acclaim as a pianist.

For more information about this performance or the 2005-06 CSU Premier Series, please call the Schwob School of Music at 706-649-7225 or visit http://music.colstate.edu/.