Born in Haiti, photographer Carl Juste (at the Miami Herald since 1991) has seen the world through his lens, covering events in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, to name a few countries, and racking up prestigious prizes such as the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. See a varied selection of his portraiture work -- with shots of folks like bassist Israel "Cachao" Lopez, drag queen Kitty Meow, and rapper Trina -- in the lobby of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida (101 W. Flagler St.) beginning this evening when "Carl Juste: Miami Portraits" goes on display. The show will be presented in conjunction with the current "Assignment Miami: News Photographers." Also beginning tonight at 7:00 and continuing every third Thursday of the month through January is a series of Photojournalism Panel Discussions. Today's topic is "Photographing Miami: Witnessing the Life of the City" and includes photo pros Michael Carlebach, Maggie Steber, Juste, A.G. Montanari, and C.M. Guerrero. Admission is free tonight and five dollars other days. The show runs through Sunday, January 25, 2004. Call 305-375-1492. (NK)
Friday 9/18
Football has its preseason -- why not symphony orchestras too? It's a way to work out the kinks and get used to being back on the stage playing your heart out. The New World Symphony will present three preseason shows over the next couple of days. Tonight at 8:00 is a Wind Ensemble Concert at the Lincoln Theatre (541 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach). Alasdair Neale will lead the musicians in a variety of windy works such as Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Harbison's Music for 18 Winds, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, and Rouse's oddly named Ku-Ka-Ilimoku. Tomorrow at the same time, in the same place, Neale picks up the baton and rouses the musicians for a String Orchestra Concert featuring pieces by Mozart, R. Strauss, and Tchaikovsky. Admission to all shows is free. Call 305-673-3331. (NK)
Saturday 9/20
Love chimes universal any time of year. Valentine's Day shouldn't be the only date to celebrate the big L with a slew of love songs. In fact the more we hear Nat King Cole (in English or Spanish), the better the world will be. Local songmeisters Mark Akens, Eliot Pilshaw, and David Vance back that argument. The trio will be staging their cabaret act, Taking A Chance on Love, a string of musical numbers from Sondheim show tunes to Beatles melodies to croons made famous by our man Nat, accompanied by a combo of jazz musicians. There will be love to be found in abundance. The concert begins at 8:00 p.m. at St. John's Church Sanctuary, 4760 Pine Tree Dr., Miami Beach. Tickets cost $20. Call 305-673-2440. (JCR)
Sunday 9/21
With the recent re-emergence of former Miami City Ballet choreographer Jimmy Gamonet De Los Heros and his new company, Ballet Gamonet, the dance scene is heating up around town. Time to marshal the troupes and keep them on their toes. Okay, we'll stop with the corny dance puns long enough to say that one of South Florida's better companies, Maximum Dance, will be offering a special outside-subscription performance this afternoon at 3:00 at Temple Emanu-El of Greater Miami (1701 Washington Ave., Miami Beach). On the program: four pieces including the U.S. premiere of Cutting Corners. Set to ancient Greek music, the ballet boasts a Belgian creator, Daniel Rosseel, associate director of Belgium's Royal Ballet of Flanders. Maximum artistic directors Yanis Pikieris and David Palmer have their moments in the spotlight as well with Palmer's pas de deux, Meander, and the duo's signature work Adiemus. Music by Franz Schubert embellishes excerpts from J.C. Blavier's Sky's the Limit and Michael Nyman's tunes complement Blavier's Passing Through. Tickets cost $20. Call 305-259-9775. (NK)
Monday 9/22
Heavenly musical sounds may sound more delightful the closer you are to heaven. A babbling brook, a mountaintop, a long stretch of deserted highway might suffice. Miami's Church of the Epiphany (8081 SW 54th Ct.) is offering its sanctuary as the place to hear the wonders of sound and composition. The newly built structure is hailed by some as a wonder of sonic design. Tonight the space gets filled with the sounds of sweet music: Mozart, Bach, Ravel, and Handel, all performed by the Church's music department. The Church of the Epiphany Concert Series begins at 7:30. Admission is by voluntary donation. Call 305-667-4911. (JCR)
Tuesday 9/23
The true test of a great work of literature is when it continues to tell an elemental truth of the human experience throughout history. Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel's classic memoir Night is precisely one of those books. It tells of the author's experience as a fifteen-year-old boy, suffering the horrors of Nazi concentration camps and watching the deaths of his family. Despite being a witness to genocide, Wiesel managed to write a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Night will be the topic of discussion as the Florida Center for the Literary Arts of Miami-Dade College introduces a program of events for its One Book, One Community series. The discussion starts at 7:30 p.m. at two Barnes & Noble bookstores, 18711 Biscayne Blvd. and 12405 N. Kendall Dr. Admission is free. Call 305-237-7261. (JCR)
Wednesday 9/24
She's fast, she's curvy, and when you get her in gear, she screams like a banshee or purrs like a pussycat. Well oiled, she's dangerous around hairpin turns -- that is, unless you know how to handle her just right. This should be the criteria for Miss Grand Prix of the Americas, who will be crowned (with a tire, perhaps?) tonight at Bayside Marketplace (401 Biscayne Blvd.). Well-oiled works, too. But you're most likely to see a waxed and jiggly procession of local goddesses shimmying across the stage in bikinis and high heels (a personal obsession of mine). There can be no better way to spend your Wednesday night. The competition begins at 6:00 p.m. Admission is free. Call 305-373-3333. (JCR)
