Art Beat: Last shows for 'Whale Fat' and 'Baskerville'; an Alaska cellist in Istanbul

Last month for 'Whale Fat'

Speaking of satire, the shortest run in the history of the multimedia parody-packed revue "Whale Fat Follies" is now half over. Performances take place at 6:45 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays through Aug. 17 at Tap Root Public House, 3300 Spenard Road. Tickets are available at centertix.net. We hear good seats are available for you and your summer houseguests.

Two weekends left for 'Baskerville'

Anchorage Community Theatre's production of Ken Ludwig's comedy, "Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery" will close at the end of this month with shows at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday through July 30. Note, that means no Sunday performance on July 31. Tickets are available at actalaska.org.

Cello busking in Turkey

Anchorage cellist Jari Piper's career has taken him far from his hometown over the years. A July 13 online article in The Guardian profiled his gig playing on ferries around Istanbul, Turkey. Reporter Laura Pitel wrote that he had been busking (that is, playing for tips), in the city for two years and that work on the boats is particularly lucrative, bringing in about $40 an hour.

"When the cellist struck up the first notes of the Prelude from Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major, it was like being transported into Walt Disney's Fantasia," Pitel wrote.

She also hinted at the tensions in Turkey, which erupted in an attempted coup last week and what appears to be, from this distance, a ruthless suppression of political and social expression in the wake of the ruckus.

Piper, however, was in Alaska by the time the article ran, giving concerts in Talkeetna and at Anchorage Lutheran Church. The Guardian article, which came out the day after the Anchorage concert, sheds some light on why the program contained so many pieces by Turkish composers.

Needed: men who sing

Anchorage pianist and composer Kathleen Bielawski is looking for male tenors, baritones and basses for her upcoming album. Singers will be paid.

The CD, titled "This Winter Wild," is described by the composer as "a collection of 're-imaginings' of some of my favorite winter solstice and holiday music," including arrangements of well-known carols, less-known pieces by classical and pop composers and a couple of new pieces by Bielawski herself.

"This Winter Wild" is part of a pair of new CDs, the other being "Elements and Elementals" by Peggy Monaghan of Arctic Sirens fame. Along with Kevin Barnett, the two musicians are co-producing each other's albums, which are due for release in October.

Singers chosen for the project "must be able to read music notation, sing and blend in harmony and take direction well," reads the solicitation. Classical vocal training or previous recording experience are not necessary. To schedule an audition, email Kathleen@frozenmusic.com or call 907-245-2328.