Lincoln reads at lunch

     WINTER HARBOR -- Nan Lincoln, author of “The Summer of Cecily,” will give a reading from her book about raising an abandoned harbor seal pup for the Schoodic Arts Festival brown bag lunch Aug. 12, 12 p.m.-1 p.m. The public is welcome to attend and either bring their own picnic lunch or purchase one of the brown bag feasts made by festival volunteers. Those who intend to buy their lunches are advised to arrive a bit early.

     The location is under the tent at the Prospect Harbor Women’s Club. Follow Route 1 to Route 195 (the Pond Road) Take Route 195 to the end, and turn right.

Bennett and Friends play Gambian music

     BAR HARBOR -- Mike Bennett and Friends will present an evening of African and Africa-inspired music to benefit Girl’s Eye View-Gambia, a collaborative program of the Women’s Collective and the YWCA of Mount Desert Island, Thursday, Aug. 12, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. at College of the Atlantic.

     Girl’s Eye View-Gambia will bring 10 seventh- and eighth-grade girls from Hancock County to The Gambia, West Africa to participate in programs with their Gambian counterparts and explore an entirely different world. The girls will learn about Gambian culture, share in daily activities, explore the area, and introspectively examine their worlds through creative writing, photography, dance and visual art.

     World percussionist, COA faculty member, SFOA artist and adventurer Bennett began his annual pilgrimage to West Africa in 1999 to study balafon with Keba Manneh, sabar drumming with Mamjam Janha and djembe with Boss Joof. Known in The Gambia as Omar Konoba, Bennett has been involved in and produced numerous artistic and educational projects.

     Those attending can expect an extravaganza of music for a great cause featuring “Omar Konoba” on Balafon, The Volvos Percussion Group, Mama Miriama Band, Las Chulas and other special guests performing with many exotic and not-so-exotic instruments such as kora, balafon, djembe, sabar, flute, guitar, drums and voice.

     For information and tickets, contact Milja Brecher-DeMuro at 288-0660 or Anne Smallidge at 276-9829.

Children’s entertainer coming to library

     ELLSWORTH -- Internationally acclaimed children’s singer/songwriter Judy Pancoast will perform a family concert at Ellsworth Public Library Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 6:30 p.m.

     Pancoast has been bringing her special brand of family entertainment to audiences throughout the United States for many years. With pop concert excitement featuring family-friendly lyrics, her music bridges the entertainment gap for families whose children have outgrown Barney, but are not yet ready for Britney.

     Her award-winning music and high-energy performance will delight audiences young and old. Interactive audience participation is highly encouraged: Be warned: You might find yourself “Swimming in Jell-O” or doing “The Potty Dance” along with your children.

     This event is free to the public.

Jazz on its way

     SOUTHWEST HARBOR -- The Tom Snow & Ralph Norris Duo will perform at the Claremont Hotel at 8 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 14. Snow (piano) and Norris (saxophone) return to the Claremont for another exciting performance of repertoire from the Great American Songbook.

     This is the fourth summer that this dynamic duo has entertained Claremont guests with the sweet sounds of jazz. The concert is free and open to the public.

Russell connects with Acadia

     MOUNT DESERT -- Famed folk singer-songwriter Tom Russell will appear Saturday, Aug. 14, at 8 p.m. at The Neighborhood House in Northeast Harbor as part of the Austin Acadia Connection Concert Series.

     Russell, a southern California native who now lives in El Paso, Texas, is probably best known for authoring “Outbound Plane” with Nancy Griffith, but his real talent is the narrative folk song, like “Gallo Del Cielo” about a poor Mexican and his crippled fighting cock trying to win back money and honor, or “Haley’s Comet” depicting the fall of Bill Haley, the early rock ’n’ roll hero.

     Russell has been accompanied for 23 years by Andrew Hardin, a master instrumentalist.

     Tickets are $18 at the door, Music Bar in Bar Harbor and the Grasshopper Shops in Ellsworth and Bangor, or through Ticketmother at 288-4740. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Bring your own snacks and beverages.

Grand auditions ‘Into the Woods’

     ELLSWORTH -- The Grand Players will hold open auditions for its fall musical, “Into The Woods,” by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim, Saturdays, Aug. 14 and 21, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. The show will run Oct. 15-31.

     “Into the Woods” combines the fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood with the story of The Baker And his Wife. In act one, all the characters succeed in realizing their dreams -- they meet their handsome princes, have their perfect children and get their wishes granted. In the second act we discover what happens after “happily ever after.”

     Actors and singers are needed for roles ages 15 and up.

     For information, call The Grand at 667-5911.

Community playreading series brings ‘The Exonerated’

     STONINGTON -- Island residents will be featured in a staged reading of the dramatic documentary play “The Exonerated,” at 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 12, in the third installment of this year’s “Our Own” Community Playreading Series at the Stonington Opera House.

     “The Exonerated” tells the true stories of six people wrongly convicted of murder, each of whom spent from two to 22 years on death row. All six were freed based on the introduction of new evidence, which proved convictions had been based on errors as common as mistaken identity.

     “We have the blueprint for quite a fair system in our Constitution,” co-author Jessica Blank said in speaking about the death penalty in an interview with the Detroit Free Press earlier this year, “but there’s an enormous gap between the way the system is laid out on paper and the way it actually plays out in the real world.”

     Blank pointed out that mistaken convictions are in part due to the fact that the prosecution is often able to outspend the defense on lawyers, investigators and expert witnesses. She and her husband and co-writer, Erik Jensen, visited more than 20 former death row inmates who had been exonerated, and created the play on the basis of these interviews.

     “The Exonerated” opened off-Broadway in 2002 starring Richard Dreyfuss and Jill Clayburgh, and just completed a national tour in which it attracted dozens of famed actors, singers, and celebrities, ranging from Mia Farrow and Robert Carradine to Lynn Redgrave, Tim Robbins, and Steve Buscemi, to its roles. Benefit performances of the play have raised more than $500,000 for the exonerated people whose stories it tells, while raising awareness about flaws in the American justice system.

     The staged, one night only reading will feature 11 community members, including Doug Johnson, Cherie Mason, and Ron Stegall, working in ensemble. As with all “Our Own Community Playreadings,” a Talk Back will be held with the audience after the performance.

     All are welcome to take part in the Opera House’s Community Playreading Series, a process that includes about 10 hours of rehearsal plus the performance. Those interested in participating in future play readings should call the Opera House to ask to be put on the play reading list.

     Tickets are $5 and available at the door and no advance reservations are necessary. Call 367-2788, or visit online at www.operahousearts.org.

Summer Choral sings Hayden and Schubert

     MOUNT DESERT -- The Mount Desert Summer Chorale will present its 36th season of concerts Aug. 13 and 15, in Northeast Harbor and Bar Harbor. The chorale will perform two beloved, sacred works of the Classical and early Romantic eras: the Lord Nelson Mass by Joseph Haydn and the Mass in G Major by Franz Schubert. Soloists include local soprano Jennifer Smith Torrance, alto Valerie Eaton, tenor Jason McStoots, and bass Donald Wilkinson.

     Members of the Bangor Symphony will play in the orchestra, and music director David Schildkret will conduct. The performances will take place at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13, at St. Mary’s-by-the Sea in Northeast Harbor and on Sunday, Aug. 15, at St. Saviour’s in Bar Harbor.

     Schildkret will speak about the music before the Bar Harbor concert, at 7:30 p.m. He is in his fifth season as music director of the Mount Desert Summer Chorale. He is the director of choral activities at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz.

     Admission to the concerts is by donation at the door; preferred seating is reserved for those who make a special donation in advance.

Chamber launches Jazz Fest

     BAR HARBOR -- The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce has announced the launch of the first summer Jazz Festival.

     The Jazz Festival will run Aug. 13-22 at multiple venues, including the historic Criterion Theatre.

     Headlining the Jazz Festival will be world-renowned pianist Kenny Werner, whose long career includes playing with jazz greats such as Joe Lovano, Archie Shepp and Toots Theileman. Also appearing will be the Dave Glasser Quartet. Glasser has recorded with legendary jazz musicians such as the Count Basie Orchestra and performed with the Dizzy Gillespie All Stars. Local jazz musicians will also be performing during the festival.

     The following is a calendar of scheduled events for the first annual Bar Harbor Jazz Fest:

     * Friday, Aug. 13: Mike Billings Band, 9 p.m. Rupununi’s.

     * Saturday, Aug. 14: Shane Ellis Trio, 9 p.m. Rupunini’s.

     * Sunday, Aug. 15: Kenny Werner Trio, 8 p.m. Criterion Theatre. (Tickets are $15 and $20; call 288-5829.)

     * Monday, Aug. 16: open air concert, 1 p.m. T.B.A.

     * Tuesday, Aug. 17: open air concert, 1 p.m. T.B.A.; Kim Cass and Don Manski, 9 p.m. Little Anthony’s.

     * Wednesday, Aug. 18, open air concert, 1 p.m. T.B.A.; Roberta DeMuro, 9 p.m. Lompoc Cafe.

     * Thursday, Aug. 19: Dan Burgun Trio, 9 p.m. Donohue’s.

     * Friday, Aug. 20: Mervyn Johnston Quintet, 9 p.m. Rupununi’s.

     * Saturday, Aug. 21: Dave Glasser Quartet, 8 p.m. Criterion Theatre.

     * Sunday, Aug. 22: Jazz Jam hosted by Mervyn Johnston, 2 p.m. Rupununi’s. (Tickets are $12, $15; call 288-5829.)

     For an up-to-date listing of all jazz performances and additional ticket information, contact the Bar Harbor Jazz Festival at 288-5829.

Of masters and muses at the Claremont Hotel

     SOUTHWEST HARBOR -- Carrie Haslett, Joan Whitney Payson Curator of Modern Art, will offer a public lecture, “American Masters and their European Muses: 1870 to 1950” Thursday, Aug. 12, at 8 p.m. at the Claremont Hotel.

     The talk offers an overview of an exhibition Haslett has organized for the Portland Museum of Art called “Monet to Matisse, Homer to Hartley: American Masters and their European Muses,” which explores the rich relationships between European and American artists between the years of 1870 and 1950. The 80-year period broadly coincides with the rise of modernist art, starting with French Realism and Impressionism and continuing through the advent of a truly international art culture by the mid-20th century. The exhibition will run through Oct. 17, and includes about 80 paintings and works on paper.

     The earliest works she will discuss date to the late 1860s and 1870s, and acknowledge the influence of the French Barbizon School, as well as a realist style of painting taught at the Munich Academy. The legacy of French Impressionism on American art was profound, varied and long-lasting, and works by Monet and Renoir, for instance, are paired with examples by Theodore Robinson and Childe Hassam to allow for expanded discussion. Haslett will pair works by Francis Picabia and Joseph Stella, Fernand Leger and Stuart Davis, and Henri Matisse and Milton Avery in order to speak to the enduring exchange between some of Europe’s and America’s most important 20th-century artists.

     The lecture for Aug. 19 will be: “Contemporary American Poetry” by Baron Wormser, poet laureate of Maine. The public is welcome to attend the free events.

Acadian Chamber Players return to the Claremont

     SOUTHWEST HARBOR -- The Acadian Chamber Players will perform a concert of mainly Mozart on Saturday, Aug. 14, at 8 p.m. in the Clarkpoint Room, Claremont Hotel.

     The Acadian Chamber Players gave their inaugural concert in Bar Harbor in August 1993. Since then the musicians, from New York, Boston and Maine, have performed with orchestras around the world. They play in Maine each summer, bringing exquisite music to intimate settings. This year they will perform the Erno von Dohnanyi Serenade in C for String Trio, Opus 10 (1902); Franz Joseph Haydn’s “London” Trio No. 3 In G (1784); and Franz Schubert’s String Trio in B Flat Major D471 (1816).

     Ernst von Dohnanyi was 25 when he wrote the Serenade in C but was already well known in Budapest for his Piano Quintet and String Quartet in A Minor. His combination of the five-movement serenade form performed by a string trio resulted in a light piece that enabled his natural inspiration to flow effortlessly. Delightfully inventive and perfectly crafted, the Serenade has long been a work that string players have enjoyed amongst themselves.

     Franz Joseph Haydn is best known for his contributions to symphonic music. He was a prolific and popular composer of chamber music, as well. His works in the 1780s carried his name far afield from the Esterhazy Court, where he made his living. His influential Opus 33 quartets, issued in 1782, were said to be “in a quite new, special manner.”

     During the autumn of 1816, the ailing Schubert left his overcrowded family home to live with a friend. Probably as a result of his syphilis, Schubert began to pour forth new compositions, including the String Trio, during that September. Although slight compared to the vast musical canvas of the String Quintet, the Trio (as it exists) represents a veritable microcosm of musical activity. This miniature gem is one of the most treasured works in the string repertoire.

     The Acadian Chamber Players musicians are Jeffrey Ellenberger, violinist; Gerard Reuter, oboist; Robert Tennen, cellist; and Louis A. Day, violist.