Remembering Esme

Stardust Showing

2010-09-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

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Next Benefit Concert on Sunday, April 11

2010-03-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars for an upcoming Esme Memorial Sculpture benefit concert on April 11. The first 2 concerts were wildly successful and thoroughly enjoyed, and this one will be similarly jam packed with great music (which Es would have loved).

Sunday April 11th, 4 to Midnight
20th Century Theater, 3021 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45209 (Phone: 513-731-8000)
Tickets $10

There will be live bands of interest from everyone from teens to adults, from alt rock to blues to classical.
From SCPA: Orchestra and String Quartet, Baby Grands and Children's Choir, Rosie Carson, Lucas Wozniak, and BURN!
Youth Band: Canned Under Authority
Adult entertainment: Rattlesnakin Daddies, Larry Cerveza & the Commanches, Rocket Science, A Dog Named Van, The Crick Gypsies, The Voodoo Blues, B Hatfield Blues Band

It will be a special day full of great music for a special cause honoring a special girl.

Platform Puts On 24th Oyster Fest

2010-03-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Washington Platform Saloon and Restaurant's 24th annual Oyster Festival will be March 26-April 24. It features a menu with more than 40 oyster dishes, several kinds of oysters on the half-shell and various oyster-y activities. They don't do the oyster-eating contest anymore, but still have the "pearl count" and "pearls of wisdom" contests, giving them a chance to win gift certificates, T-shirts and a Reds Weekend getaway package.

All special event proceeds benefit the Esme Kenney/SCPA Memorial Sculpture Fund. From 4 to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, the Platform offers 24 fresh-shucked oysters for $20.10, along with happy hour prices. 1000 Elm St., Downtown, 513-421-0110.

Quaker Service Planned to Support Esme's Parents

2010-02-27T15:34:00.000-08:00

6:30-8pm on Sunday, March 7
To help support Esme's parents on the one-year anniversary of their daughter's passing
St. John's Unitarian Church in Clifton

Read more about the event on Fox 19's site.

Northside Tavern Benefit Summary

2010-02-08T14:40:00.001-08:00

Cincinnati.com summarizes the event, with some great photos.

Choir Concert Huge Success!

2010-01-25T11:31:00.000-08:00

The Choral Concert that took place yesterday, January 24 at St. John's Unitarian Universalist Church brought in over $10,000 in ticket sales and donations! Thank you to everyone who attended, sang, and helped out in any way. Also, a big thank you to St. Theresa's Textile Trove who donated a day's worth of sales, over $6,000! Thank you, thank you.

You can read more about the concert on cincinnati.com.

Calendar of Upcoming Benefits

2010-01-22T15:46:00.000-08:00

SUNDAY, JANUARY 24
"Celebrating Esme: Choral Spectacular"
3 pm, St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church, 320 Resor Ave, Clifton 45220
Tickets $50

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28
SCPA Talent Show
Hosted by SCPA students in the Junior National Honor Society
6:30pm, SCPA's Black Box Theater, $3

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30
"Esme Kenney Memorial Benefit Concert: All Ages!"
Hosted by Kim Taylor, featuring Karin Bergquist, Linford Detweiler, Ric Hordinski, Jay Bolotin, The Hiders, The Chocolate Horse
7-10pm (doors open at 6pm), Northside Tavern, 4163 Hamilton Ave, $10

SUNDAY, APRIL 11
"Esme Kenney Memorial Benefit Concert"
Hosted by Don Anderson
20th Century Theater

Third Benefit Concert Announced

2010-01-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

April 11, 2010 at the 20th Century Theater
Hosted by Don Anderson

more details coming soon...

Student-Organized Talent Show on Jan. 28th

2010-01-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

A Benefit Talent Show will be held at SCPA's Black Box theater on Thursday, January 28th. Hosted by SCPA students in the National Junior Honor Society, students in grades 4-8 will be performing to raise money for Esme's Memorial Sculpture. The kids will showcase their artistic skills in singing, dancing, acting and more.

It should be a lot of fun, with prizes for the kids, food, drinks, and plenty of talent on display!

Come at 6:30 PM with $3 for a ticket. Additional donations will be accepted.

Benefit Concerts Scheduled

2010-01-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. " ~Margaret Mead

Hello everyone and THANK YOU! for the overwhelming support of the Esme Kenney Memorial Sculpture Project!!!!

November's Dance Party was a complete success!! Not only was the party a fun night of dancing, music, memories, and friendship, but we raised over $2500! These funds, along with what we have received from individual donations have us well on our way to funding this beautiful sculpture.

We have some exciting events ahead to continue our fundraising efforts. First and foremost, a series of concerts are being planned in Esme's honor. There are 2 shows currently scheduled, with a third in the works. January 24 is "Celebrating Esme: Choral Spectacular" featuring a variety of choirs, including world renowned MUSE at St. John's Unitarian Church. Details for that show are below. On January 30, Kim Taylor will be hosting a night of music at Northside Tavern. The third show in our series will be a concert closer to spring time at 20th Century Theater which will showcase a variety of local talent, and perhaps even some SCPA student acts. We will get information out as soon as we know more. Our hope is that the variety of these concerts will provide a spectrum of giving opportunities for people to support the Sculpture Project while experiencing how Esme's spirit has inspired musicians of many levels and genres.

Below are the details of the first two concerts. Stay tuned for more information.... and again, from all of us working to make this a reality, thank you.

"Celebrating Esme: Choral Spectacular"
Jan. 24, 3 pm. St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church 320 Resor Ave; Clifton 45220

A choral concert to celebrate Esme's birthday!

Esme Kenney and her parents are members of the St. John’s Unitarian Universalist church community. Four choirs, who also call St. John’s “home,” will present a celebration concert at St. John’s in honor of Esme’s 14th birthday and as a fundraiser for the memorial glass sculpture to be installed at the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts. Also featured in the adjacent gallery space will be visual art work by Esme's mom, Lisa Siders-Kenney.

Featured at the choral concert will be Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble, MUSE – Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir, the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus and the St. John’s Adult Choir. Under the batons of Donald Nally, Dr. Catherine Roma and Dr. Patrick Coyle, these ensembles will present choral music reflecting the vibrant life of Esme Kenney.

Tickets are $50 (Additional Donations Accepted)
On-line www.stjohnsuu.org or by calling 961-1938. Tickets may also be available at the door.

For more information, contact Josie Arens 961-1938 office@stjohnsuu.org

Esme Kenney Memorial Benefit Concert: All Ages!!
January 30, 7-10pm (doors open at 6pm), Northside Tavern, 4163 Hamilton Ave, $10
Hosted by Kim Taylor

Featuring: Karin Bergquist, Linford Detweiler, Ric Hordinski, Jay Bolotin, The Hiders, The Chocolate Horse and Kim Taylor. Silent auction with work by Michael Wilson, Jay Bolotin, Amy Bogard, Lisa Siders-Kenney and more. $10 at the door, doors open at 6pm, music from 7-10pm. Tell everyone and their brother! Every penny to benefit the Esme Memorial to be installed in the new SCPA this year.

Dance Party Fundraiser

2009-11-10T10:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday, November 14
7pm-midnight
554 Evanswood Place (in Clifton)

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RSVP Today!

The suggested donation is $25 for adults and $15 for people under 18 (All minors must be accompanied by a responsible adult). Please make your checks out to “Friends of SCPA” and write "Esme Kenney" in the memo line. Mail your checks to Sean Mullaney, 554 Evanswood Place, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220. $30 and $20 the day of the party.

About the Artist

2009-11-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

Jessie Henson of New York City has been selected as project artist. Jessie has Cincinnati roots, and was a dear friend of Esme's. She graduated from SCPA's visual arts program, and has a BFA from Corcoran in Washington DC, as well as a MFA from Rutgers University. (Initial concept sketch shown below).

Esme Louise Kenney Memorial Proposal

2009-11-09T05:32:00.000-08:00

"I would like to create a piece of work that embodies as much of the idea of Esme transformed into an 'explosion of light' as possible. When I envision something for Esme I think of color, and brightness. The week that Esme died I worked with a glass artist in Cincinnati. He took broken cast offs of figurines, and melted them together for me to create brilliants orbs of various shades of blue. This process of the resurrection of the glass, along with the brightness of the fire and intensity of the heat, were all incredibly cathartic as I was awe struck with grief. I continue to see the poetic beauty of the glass as a perfect symbol for Esme, her clarity and strength, but also her fragility, and now her ability to live on in a new light, shifting form but constantly present.

To create a piece in the atrium space at SCPA I would continue the process of working with glass artists to make large orbs of glass of various sizes and colors, all falling within a general definition of blue: the color of Esme’s brilliant eyes and her fantastic first guitar. Together this menagerie of orbs would hang from the ceiling, creating an exploding chandelier. The individual “chandeliers” would be a series of mobiles, dense in the center and expanding outward. A celestial sky of blue, with stars of color, illuminated by the changing light of the day.

Having walked into the old SCPA building for nine of my formative years, I am also interested in bringing the stained glass that greeted you upon entrance of the building into a new, three dimensional form. This new interpretation would carry on the historical tradition of using stained glass as a memorial for a loved one, the illumination of the glass reflecting the light of one who has been lost.

It would be my hope to bring as much involvement with SCPA students as possible into the process of making a piece for them. I would want to share Esme’s enthusiasm for community and to her school into anything that memorializes her. As a musician who played in an ensemble, I think that this communal effort would be essential to how Esme would approach an artistic endeavor, and I would want to honor that spirit. This could involve putting the work together, or perhaps even etching words into the glass, which is something that Lisa expressed interest in. If I were to make this work, I would plan on spending a significant amount of time in Cincinnati in order to create it.

As a student at SCPA, I was deeply influenced by my work with Althea Thompson, and seeing her own work as an artist outside of SCPA was critical to my ability to envision growing up as an artist. We were also given an opportunity to work with an artist as she prepared for a show at the CAC. I see this now as essential to my understanding that although art is often a solitary process, it sometimes takes many people to get something done, and that the uniqueness of many individual hands and interpretations on a single theme is often more powerful than one hand alone.

It would be a great honor to be able to memorialize Esme in this way. I am blessed to have known her as I did, and it would be a further blessing to be given the opportunity to learn more of her life and her powerful influence on all of the people around her by working with the other people who also loved her as endlessly as I do."

~Jessie Henson, artist