Tacoma Symphony with clarinetist Craig Rine

The Tacoma Symphony moves to the Rialto Theater this weekend for a performance of Bach, Copland and Schumann, including Copland’s Clarinet Concerto written for Benny Goodman and performed this weekend by the TSO’s own Craig Rine. 2:30 p.m. Nov. 20. $12-$62. Rialto Theater, 310 S. 9^thSt., Tacoma. 253-591-5894, www.tacomasymphony.org

Craft fair for artist-made gifts

If the holidays are getting too commercial for you, support local artists by buying gifts that are truly unique at the annual Tacoma is For Lovers Craft Fair this weekend. Ornaments, jewelry, printed items, handmade books…the list goes on. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 19 and 20. Free. King’s Books, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma. 253-272-8801, www.kingsbookstore.com

Dada cabaret with Toy Boat Theatre

Know what Dada is? Everything and anything, provided it doesn’t make any sense and is juxtaposed in the oddest way. Toy Boat Theatre presents an original (and free) cabaret version of the early-20^th-century art phenomenon in “WaT is DaDa?” 8 p.m. Nov. 17, 18 at Norton Clapp Theatre, Jones Hall, University of Puget Sound, 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma; 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Nov. 19 at Toy Boat Theatre, 1314 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma. Free. www.toyboattheatre.com

New and Small Works at Madera

The artisans and artists at Madera Architectural Elements present a holiday show of smaller items from their repertoire: felted creations by Jennevieve Schlemmer, mixed media by Chris Wooten, stoneware by Andy Lewis-Lechner and more. Gala opening noon-5 p.m. Nov. 19; then open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday through Dec. 21. Free. Madera, 2210 Court A, Tacoma. 253-572-1218, www.maderawoodworking.com Read more »

UPS piano trio returns

The Puget Sound Piano Trio, recently revived after a 15-year hiatus, will give its debut performance tonight featuring faculty members Duane Hulbert on piano, Maria Sampen on violin and the recently appointed, Naumberg-winning cellist David Requiro playing works by Beethoven, Brahms, Omiccioli and Cassado. 7:30 p.m. tonight. $12.50/$8.50 seniors, students, and UPS faculty and staff/free for UPS students. Schneebeck Concert Hall, University of Puget Sound, 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma. 253-879-3419, www.pugetsound.edu/music

The Tacoma Symphony rocks with electric harpist

Deborah Henson-Conant rocks the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra with a strap-on electric blue harp, a powerful voice …

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Tacoma Symphony concerts now have a visual art element to them. Local painter Marie Le Davay began showing her post-impressionist-style paintings in the Pantages lobby during the TSO’s concert in December, and she’ll be doing the same this Sunday afternoon for “Electric Harp.”

A native of Paris, France, Le Davay has had a life of living in interesting places (Iran, England) thanks to family relocations and has pursued painting alongside her studies and work teaching sociology. Having studied from teachers such as J. Petgar and Marie Shayans, she paints landscapes and still lifes with a blurry, impressionistic …

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Norman Rockwell at TAM

‘American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell” features 42 paintings and 323 original magazine covers by the iconic 20^th-century American illustrator, and opens at Tacoma Art Museum this weekend with curator lecture, art activities and more. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., then 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed-Sun, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. third Thursdays through May 30. $9/$8/free for five and under and 5-8 p.m. third Thursdays. 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma. 253-272-4258, www.tacomaartmuseum.org

Tacoma Symphony plays world percussion premiere

This Sunday the Tacoma Symphony plays a brand-new concerto for duo percussion by local composer Greg Youtz, along with Debussy’s …

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Tacoma Symphony  does “Messiah”

Hear all the favorite choruses (“Hallelujah”) and arias (“The Trumpet Shall Sound”) in Handel’s Christmas oratorio, “Messiah,” sung by the Tacoma Symphony Chorus with the orchestra accompanying. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17. $25. St. Charles Borromeo Church, 7112 S. 12^th St., Tacoma. 253-591-5894, www.broadwaycenter.org, www.tacomasymphony.org

Click Flick: “A Christmas Story”

The monthly free Click Family Flick at the Grand Cinema this weekend is 1980s classic “A Christmas Story.” Doors open 10 a.m., screening 10:30 a.m. Dec. 18. Free to first 100 people. The Grand Cinema, 606 S. Fawcett Ave., Tacoma. 253-593-4474, www.grandcinema.com

Fisher’s glowing …

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Four of Tacoma’s main performing arts groups – the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, the Northwest Sinfonietta, Tacoma Opera and the Broadway Center for Performing Arts – have announced their 2010-2011 seasons, and there’s a refreshing array of new work on the cards. And for those wanting to buy subscription tickets, now’s the time to get good seats and deals. 

Northwest Sinfonietta

The Sinfonietta kicks off its 20^th anniversary year with the first classical concert of the season on Oct. 1, 2 and 3. Three nights? You bet. Because for each of the five concert programs, there are three separate performances …

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It’s hard to believe it’s the end of the 2009/10 concert season already, but the last subscription concert for the Tacoma Symphony season is this weekend. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday night the Pantages will fill with the lush symphonic sounds of Dvorak, Berlioz and Michael Daugherty, together with those of rising cello soloist Soo Bae.

The program’s a hefty one. Daugherty’s an American composer whose Elvis tribute was played by the Northwest Sinfonietta last fall; the TSO will play the slapstick “Oh, Lois!” section of his Superman-inspired “Metropolis Symphony.” Up-and-coming Korean-Canadian cellist Soo Bae, called “superb” by The New …

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Even among singers, this one’s pretty swift: Fox Island baritone Charles Robert Stephens, who was scheduled to be one of the four soloists for Tacoma Symphony’s annual performance of the “Messiah” Friday night, has bumped them at the last minute to fill in for an ailing Sanford Sylvan with Seattle Symphony. Tacoma baritone Barry Johnson has agreed to stand in for Stephens in Tacoma.

The soloist roles for the “Messiah,” Handel’s beloved oratorio telling the Christmas and Easter stories through aria and chorus, are vital to the success of a performance. Baritone arias include the famous earthquake recitative, the …

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