(Camden, Orono and Portland) Back by popular demand, the authentic Irish music experience of Danu comes to Maine. Danu will perform at three venues: on Tuesday, March 13th 7:00 pm at the Camden Opera House; on Wednesday, March 14th at 7:00 pm at the Collins Center for the Arts in Orono; and on Thursday, March 15 at 7:30 pm at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland. A high energy celebration of the Emerald Isle, the music of Danu offers an authentic Irish experience. Using traditional instruments, flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion and bouzouki the music is clever and fun. Danu mixes ancient Irish music with contemporary works to create an unforgettable evening.

Danu will perform at three venues: on Tuesday, March 13th 7:00 pm at the Camden Opera House; on Wednesday, March 14th at 7:00 pm at the Collins Center for the Arts in Orono; and on Thursday, March 15 at 7:30 pm at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland.

For more information, please visit Bay Chamber Concerts website; the Collins Center for the Arts website; or the Portland Ovations website.

(Augusta, ME) On Friday, March 23rd the Olin Arts Center in Lewiston will host a contest like no other in Maine as high school students take to the stage to compete against their peers, armed only with poems they have memorized and made their own. One student will walk away with the title of Maine State Champion and the added honor of representing the state at the national finals in Washington, DC in April.

The finalists, representing schools across all of Maine, have already progressed through their school competitions and regional finals to be among the final 10 from approximately 8,000 that began this contest in December. Now these students will recite their choices of classical and contemporary poetry from memory, in front of a live public audience. The event will also be broadcast live on television and the internet through MPBN.

“The Poetry Out Loud contest continues to be one of the most invigorating programs mounted around poetry that we have administrated,” said Maine Arts Commission Acting Director Darrell Bulmer. “The state final is always an amazing event; the quality of delivery and level of understanding from the student finalists is simply breathtaking.”

The winner of the state finals will receive $200, and the winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The second place finalist will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. The state champion will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip (with a chaperone) to compete in the National Finals in Washington, DC in April, where a total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends will be awarded.

This year’s finalists are: Bethanie Brown from Waterville Senior High School; Joshua Elwood from Bangor High School; Monica Frempong from Morse High School; Eloise Harnett from Gardiner Area High School; Brianna Housman from Searsport District High School; Avery Laderer from Boothbay Region High School; Tyler O’Brien from Merriconeag Waldorf High School; Makaela Reinke from George Stevens Academy; Kiana Sawyer from Portland High School and Ellyn Touchette from Gorham High School.

The Poetry Out Loud final begins at 1:45 pm on Friday, March 23rd at the Olin Arts Center on the campus of Bates College. Suzanne Nance, host of MPBN’s Morning Classical Music segment, will emcee the event. Gretchen Berg, Carey Salerno, Walter Skold and Martin Steingesser are members of the panel of expert judges who have the difficult task of selecting the state champion.

The event is open to the public and free to attend; registration details can be found on MaineArts.com. Interested parties can also contact Darrell Bulmer at the Maine Arts Commission by calling 207-287-6746 or via email at darrell.bulmer@maine.gov.

(Portland, ME) Presented by Portland Ovations on Thursday, March 22nd 7:30 pm at the Merrill Auditorium. Called “fresh and forward-thinking” by The Washington Post, Trey McIntyre uses classical ballet technique as a departure point to create exuberant dances that convey the emotion and grace of life’s journey. McIntyre is one of the most sought-after choreographers today, creating works for Stuttgart Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and others as well as his own company. In its Maine premiere, his company of 11 exquisite dancers bring McIntyre’s latest work inspired by the 1970s television special, “Free to be You…and Me,” a piece crafted on the program’s messages of individuality, tolerance, and comfort with one’s identity.

For more information, please visit the Portland Ovations website.

(Lewiston, ME) On Saturday, March 24th at 7:30 pm. One of Russian’s foremost pianists and a master teacher, Tamara Poddubnaya returns to perform at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston. A distinguished graduate of St. Petersburg’s Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, Dr. Poddubnaya soon established herself as one of Russia’s foremost keyboard artists and piano teachers. Renowned for her masterful command of a vast repertoire, she has performed to great acclaim in Europe and the United States. Patrons of last season’s Piano Series will remember her interpretations of Schumann and Chopin. She frequently serves on juries at international piano competitions and keeps a busy schedule of teaching and performing in Russia, the Netherlands, and the United States, where she is Professor of Piano at the Long Island Conservatory and visiting professor at the Portland Conservatory of Music.

For more information, please visit the Franco-American Heritage Center website.