Pops, piano, more fill nights with music

Music is in the air this week, from pops to jazz and classical concerts.

Popping the cork on McCrady's Charleston Pops Series performed by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra is "Great Ladies of Swing With Dee Daniels."

Dee Daniels will entertain with swing and jazz favorites that have been performed by the Great Ladies of Swing: Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee and Sarah Vaughan.

Daniels, who has a four-octave vocal range, will guide the audience through universal aspects of love, joy, humor, heartache and wisdom.

The Pops season-opener takes place at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Gaillard Auditorium. Tickets are $20-$45 with a discount for groups of 20 or more.

Tickets for students with ID may be purchased for $5 only at the Gaillard box office. Single tickets may be purchased by visiting the box office at 77 Calhoun St., going to www.charlestonsymphony.com or at the door the evening of the concert.

McCrady's Pops! season tickets are $75-$200 and still may be purchased by calling the CSO office at 723-7528, ext. 110.

Piano Series

Widely known for his brand of classical piano music, Andrew von Oeyen will open the 19th season of the College of Charleston's International Piano series at 8 p.m. Tuesday playing the music of Bach, Liszt, Debussy and Robert Schumann at the Sottile Theatre, 44 George St.

Since his debut at age 17 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, von Oeyen has performed in recitals and concerts around the globe, including appearances at Spoleto Festival USA. With a commanding and diverse repertoire, the pianist has experienced success with the San Francisco Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Bratislava Philharmonic and many others.

Recently, he performed in a recital at London's Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and in a major recital tour of Japan. Tim Page, The Post and Courier's Spoleto columnist and former classical music critic for The Washington Post, wrote in a review: "I would go so far as to say that von Oeyen played the finest all-around performance of Franz Liszt's Sonata in B Minor that I had heard in many years."

Von Oeyen is an alumnus of Columbia University and a recent graduate of the Juilliard School. His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio, where he has been a featured guest on "Performance Today." He has homes in New York and Paris.

Tickets to Tuesday's performance are $20 and free for those younger than 18 and College of Charleston students.

For tickets, call 953-6575 or purchase them at the door the night of the concert.

Duvall and Friends

Playing acoustic bass and piano, Frank Duvall has a resume that includes performances with such jazz stars as Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy DeFranco, Freddie Hubbard and Bill Charlap. He also leads the Frank Duvall Jazz Trio and is an adjunct faculty member in the College of Charleston's music department.

While living in New York, Duvall played at the famed jazz mecca Birdland and at the Blue Note club. He also accompanied off-Broadway shows and recorded in studios for television and movie soundtracks.

The jazz studies program at the college will present Duvall and Friends with Robert Lewis on saxophone, Ben Wells on acoustic bass and Stuart White on drums. Duvall also will play piano and bass.

The concert will be held at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Recital Hall of the Simons Center for the Arts, 54 St. Philip St. Admission is $5 at the door and free for students.

Redux Art Center

Bringing an international flavor to local visual arts, the Redux Contemporary Art Center is presenting "Post Stagecraft," an exhibition by the Iranian-born, Los Angeles-based artist Amir H. Fallah.

Exploring an aesthetic by employing a number of diverse media, including painting, photography, sculpture and site-specific installation, Fallah is the founder and creative director of "Beautiful/Decay," an international contemporary art and culture magazine.

In his exhibit at Redux, Fallah showcases his new work featuring an update to his well-known fort/terrariums and has deconstructed his fort structure, leaving a large 7-by-14-foot pedestal platform in the center of the gallery to support myriad objects.

These installations include items sparking childhood memories, found objects and invasive sculptural constructions said to create a playful yet somber universe.

His sculptures are built from household knickknacks, such as flower pots, and chosen objects that depict a private boyhood landscape referencing a time past and lost.

Fallah's style of work is said to represent a different type of "scavenger" mentality, one that collects and recycles the notion of cultural heritage.

"Post Stagecraft," on display through Oct. 19, is supported in part by the Art Institute of Charleston.

The Redux Contemporary Art Center, 136 St. Philip St., is open to visitors noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday.

Reach Dottie Ashley at 937-5704 or dashley@postandcourier.com.