Fine Art, Cultured Guests and Music Fill Poway This Weekend

The Poway Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA) plays host to a unique display of fine art—Bedke Fine Art—painted by Cloyd Bedke, this Oct. 1-26. Bedke’s work focuses on indoor and outdoor watercolors, depicting sites such as missions, horse farms and the Pacific Ocean.

The PCPA was designed to present fine arts, as well as performing arts and educational programming, and the lobby of the center is a perfect venue for fine art exhibitions such as Bedke’s.

A new exhibit opens monthly, and is chosen annually by an Art Selection Committee, ensuring a wide variety of styles and media from local and regional artists, as well as student art.

Bedke, a Bonsall resident, is a commercial artist and illustrator who worked with Chicago advertising agencies and studied at the Chicago Institute of Fine Art. His works are in private collections across the country, as well as in England and Germany.

Gallery hours for viewing are: Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bedke Fine Art will conduct a reception at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8.

The PCPA doesn’t stop with fine art. Additionally, the center hosts a variety of visiting, professional and community performances, including this Friday’s Musou Band at 7 p.m. The group is Taiwan’s first all-girl, Chinese orchestra, formed by girls from different universities in Taiwan.

Musou’s sound incorporates traces of pop, alternative, techno, dance music and the beats of video game music.

Tickets start at $10 and go up to $30. To purchase tickets, contact Lily Huang at 858-504-0242.

And, kicking off its 21st professional performance season for PCPA is The Max Weinberg 7+ band, which will be performing at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Max Weinberg is best known as the house band for NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien and, later, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. The show traces the musical arc of drummer Max Weinberg’s legendary careers with Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, and with Conan O’Brien. Called Basie, Beatles and the Boss, the concert will feature music ranging from big band classics by Count Basie and Gene Kruppa, to the tunes of the Beatles and Weinberg’s famous “Boss,” Bruce Springsteen.

“I’ve had a wonderful time performing with my 15-piece ensemble and I loved every minute of my TV career, but now, with the time to explore every facet of instrumental music, I will apply the muscular, energetic, and intense approach I’m known for to a smaller band,” said Weinberg. “Additionally, I plan to expand upon one of the most enjoyable aspects of my live show—interacting with the audience about my influences, the music and where the impulses to perform
these songs originated.”

Before the concert, “Mighty Max” will host a drum demonstration and clinic onstage at the center. The clinic will be followed by a master class with members of Poway High School’s Jazz Ensemble. Students will perform for Weinberg and receive coaching and a hands-on demo. The event begins at 1 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

“Our mission is to entertain, enrich and educate our community,” said Michael Rennie, executive director for the POW! Foundation, the nonprofit organization responsible for booking professional artists into the city-owned Poway Center. “Giving students a chance to work up close and personal with an artist like Max is a tremendous opportunity–not only for youth, but ‘students’ of any age. Everyone is welcome, and we hope the public makes time for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

The Drum Clinic and Master Class is presented as part of the Foundation’s Arts in Education Initiative, a series of programs designed to give local students hands-on experiences with the
arts, including in-school workshops, music education assemblies and a one-week, all-expenses-paid theater camp.

Saxophone star and recent American Idol guest Mindi Abair will also join 7+ with her own brand of pop-and-soul meets jazz mix. Abair sparked national attention with her performance on Idol this spring and continues to not only set audible trends, but break boundaries as she continues to define the less traditional future of jazz with a pleasingly unique voice.

Tickets for the show are $42 for adults, $36 for seniors (62+) and $10 for kids under 18 years with the purchase of an adult ticket. For more details, visit powayarts.org or call 858-748-0505.