INAUGURAL BLOOMINGTON MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL SET FOR JULY 1999

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Mark your cultural calendar for July 1999.

That's when Bloomington's newest event -- a music and arts festival so young it has yet to be named, but so promising it's destined to become a much-loved tradition -- will be held for the first time.

Four days long, it will take place on a variety of stages and in dozens of shops and galleries. There will be opera and classical music, jazz and rock 'n' roll, art and dance, theater . . . something for all ages and all of it will be free.

The festival has been approved by the Arts Advisory Committee, a community arts task force led by Indiana University President Myles Brand and Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez. As envisioned, the event will showcase the creative and artistic energy of Indiana University and Bloomington's vibrant cultural scene. It will bring in nationally and internationally acclaimed performers and artists.

Fernandez said the strong university-community tie will add a special dimension to the festival.

"Between the city and the university, we have an extraordinary array of arts offerings," Fernandez said. "By focusing our energies on a summer festival, we have the opportunity to make a gift of the arts to Indiana and bring great attention to the myriad cultural offerings throughout Bloomington. If we can get new arts patrons to attend an ambitious festival, they will return for other arts events throughout the year."

Brand added that the festival would draw thousands of people to Bloomington, bringing in substantial tourism revenue as it becomes a favorite summer attraction of families.

The festival will feature outdoor productions by the IU Opera Theater, in addition to performances of classical, contemporary and international music on campus and around town.

It will include educational components for all ages, such as workshops, master classes and lectures and seminars for everyone from local band directors to church musicians. Artists and performers, be they painters, sculptors, singers or dancers, will offer pointers for neophytes and professionals alike. There will be a host of special activities for children.

As envisioned in the very early stages, the festival will center around outdoor opera in the evening. Before and after the opera performances will come concerts featuring other types of music, including jazz, blues, symphonic, alternative music and rock 'n' roll. During the day, a variety of other performing and visual arts offerings will be offered throughout Bloomington.

"We would like for visitors to tour downtown during the day, visiting our wonderful art galleries, venues, shops and restaurants, then enjoy a variety of outdoor music -- centered around our world-famous opera -- in the evenings," Brand said. "All this will be family oriented and have a strong educational element."

Bloomington is already widely known for its creative climate and wealth of arts offerings.

The town has been a creative hotspot for most of this century, and its cultural pedigree is storied: Hoagy Carmichael was born and raised here. Rocker John Mellencamp lives here. Novelist James Alexander Thom lives and works not too far away. Internationally renowned figures from the worlds of classical music, jazz, opera, painting, sculpting and printmaking regularly travel to the area to share their talents with IU students and Bloomington residents.

The gently rolling hills and valleys of southern Indiana have long attracted artists and performers of every conceivable ilk. The painters of adjacent Brown County drew inspiration from their surroundings long before the state chose Bloomington as the location for the hilly, tree-studded campus of Indiana University. Years later, the town and campus offered a haven for visitors ranging from Dylan Thomas, who lectured to poetry students before heading to nearby Nick's English Hut, to Leonard Bernstein, who moved in for six weeks in 1985 to compose his aptly named opera, A Quiet Place.

(Erik Novak, Office of Communications and Marketing, 812-855-0089 or 812-855-3911, enovak@indiana.edu)

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