Simon Tam shares fireside chat with themes of perseverance, justice for Asian American musical artists

When most people think about their favorite rock band, images of furious guitar playing, stage dives, pyrotechnics, and chanting crowds all come to mind — not fighting the United States Supreme Court.

Although that is probably the furthest thing from the stereotypical band experience, fighting stereotypes has never been an issue for Simon Tam.

As part of GVSU’s yearly Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Celebration, Tam held a fireside chat on Feb. 24 centered around his unique experience as an Asian American. 

Read more at www.lanthorn.com. 

Grand Rapids Symphony offers on-demand access to online concerts

Beginning in February and available through March, the Grand Rapids Symphony has made online concerts available and ready for ticket purchase. 

Available until March 6, Vivaldi’s, “The Four Seasons” will only be around for about another week. 

With Marcelo Lehninger as the Conductor, this music is inspired by poetry and enlivened by one of the greatest musicians of the Italian Baroque era, Vivaldi.

In this online experience, four Grand Rapids Symphony players will bring spring, summer, autumn, and winter into the comfort of viewers’ homes. 

Another concert available for ticket purchase, Igor Stravinsky’s, “The Soldier’s Tale,” will be online until March 27. 

Conducted by Julian Wachner, this concert features performances from the Ebony Road Players, a Grand Rapids theater company whose mission is to engage the community with high-quality theater productions focused on the Black experience.

In this music-enriched tale, the audience will follow a soldier who, seduced by riches, trades the devil his fiddle for the knowledge of what is yet to come. As the future comes sooner than expected, he struggles to get back what he lost. 

GV Art Gallery uses Instagram to highlight artist accounts every Friday

Beginning in Jan. of 2021 Grand Valley State University’s Art Gallery’s Instagram Account began posting a series every Friday called “5 To Follow” where they highlighted five different accounts of creators that they felt deserved recognition. 

Now continuing into March, the account uses this series to shine a spotlight on creators, curators, and writers every week. Four of the five posts so far have focused on Indigenous artists. But, the account did make a Black History Month post in Feb. where they highlighted five accounts featuring Black artists. 

The accounts featured come from all over the United States, some with very large followings and others working their way up.